One week after the dramatic helicopter rescue of three hikers stranded in the wilderness north of Pitt Lake, Coquitlam Search and Rescue says it's high time Coquitlam had its own chopper rescue team rather than relying on its neighbour's.
In last week's helicopter rescue - and nearly all previous - Coquitlam SAR called upon the equipment and expertise of the North Shore SAR's Helicopter External Transportation System (HETS) to assist in extracting the hikers.
And while none of the province's eight HETS-equipped SAR teams have their own choppers, all have the training, ropes, harnesses and baskets necessary to convert a commercial helicopter into a rescue helicopter in a matter of minutes.
Former Coquitlam SAR president, and current chairman of the team's HETS committee, Bill Papove, told The Tri-City News he's not certain where the funding will come from but promised that Coquitlam would be HETS-ready next year.
The start-up cost for the HETS training and equipment is $60,000, then about $6,000 annually to maintain the program, Papove said.
Currently, Coquitlam SAR is looking to the province's community gaming grants and the city's Spirit of Coquitlam grants - funded by money the city receives from Boulevard Casino - to help fund the HETS program. If those don't pan out, Papove said the SAR team would solicit corporate and private donations to raise the $60,000.
"It can take us 10 hours to hike in to someone where we could fly in with a long-line system in 15 minutes," Papove said, answering to the cost-effectiveness of the HETS program, adding that in some situations the SAR team handles, that time makes a world of difference.
Last week's rescue was the first requiring HETS in Coquitlam so far this year. Last year, there were three.
Mike Coyle, who came to Coquitlam SAR with prior HETS certification, was the SAR manager on the ground at last week's Pitt Lake rescue but usually he's the rescuer on the end of the rope.
"Basically, the helicopter picks me up from as close as we can get, flies me to the location and the pilot lowers me through the trees and I disconnect from the helicopter and assist the patient," Coyle said. "I put the patient into the harness when the helicopter comes back and we fly to the landing area, I detach and then the helicopter lands nearby."
Coyle said it's a quick and easy rescue procedure that's becoming more routine. And that's why Coquitlam can't keep relying on the North Shore - the province's busiest SAR team - to always be ready.
"If we needed this kind of rescue on the weekend - North Shore had two HETS rescues this weekend - it could be all tied up," he said.
Papove said he expects to raise the $60,000 to fund HETS by November and then begin certifying eight more of Coquitlam's 45 SAR members in the rescue technique in February.
Coquitlam SAR president Garry Mancell said Coquitlam would become the ninth SAR team in the province to be fully HETS certified, joining the North Shore, Whistler, Chilliwack, Campbell River, Squamish, Penticton, Golden and Kootenay Heli Rescue.
