Two Forest Service helicopter crews are practicing medical evacuation maneuvers this week west of Missoula.
The teams are training for "Emergency Medical Short-Haul" missions.
That's a highly specialized technique to evacuate badly-injured firefighters out of remote locations. Forest Service spokeswoman Jennifer Jones says the patient and up to two medical attendants are suspended on a fixed line under the helicopter.
"And transported to an area where they could get either a ground ambulance, a life-flight or even be transported in an agency helicopter to somewhere where they could get the medical care they need."
Jones says the Forest Service has traditionally relied on outside contractors or the military to provide this service.
"We decided to launch our own program just to ensure that we have these services available if and when they're needed."
Two Forest Service helitack crews will be used throughout the west this year for both normal firefighting duties and, if needed, medical short-haul missions.
Jones says existing short-haul contractors won't be eliminated until the agency can exclusively provide its own evacuations. When and if that happens, Jones says tens, if not hundreds of thousand of dollars, could potentially be saved.
