Henry 1 Emergency Medical Resuce in Marin County
On 6/22/14 at approximately 3:50 PM the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Helicopter Henry 1 was requested to respond to the area of Alpine Lake in Marin County to assist with a rescue of an injured hiker on a trail with no vehicle access.
The Henry 1 Crew consists of a Pilot, Deputy Sheriff/EMT and a Paramedic, all trained to perform long line rescues. After the 17 minute flight to the area, the Henry one crew was able to locate the patient with the assistance of Marin County Fire Dispatch. Marin County Fire Dispatch maintained cell phone contact with a by-stander, informing the crew when they were directly over the patient, who was concealed by a dense tree canopy. Ground units form Marin County Fire and Ross Valley Fire began hiking the steep trail up to the patient at about the same time Henry 1 arrived on scene.
After locating the patient, Pilot Paul Bradley landed the aircraft on a ridge above the trail, where Paramedic Scott Freedman and Deputy Sheriff Chris Mahoney configured the aircraft for a 200 foot long line rescue. Bradley Flew Freedman and Mahoney to a clear spot near the patient on the Cataract trail where ground crews had already made contact with the patient. The 64 year old male patient suffered traumatic injuries from a 40 foot fall down a steep rocky slope. Freedman began assessing the patient with Fire crews on scene, while Mahoney prepared for a long line extraction.
With the assistance of Marin County and Ross Valley Firefighters, the patient was placed in a spinal precaution device and a Stokes litter for extraction. Fire crews carried the patient approximately 15 yards out of a steep rocky creek bed to an opening in the tree canopy where Bradley could lower the long line.
Bradley returned to the area and extracted the patient along with Freedman and Mahoney on the 200 foot long line. Bradley flew the crew and patient to the Alpine Dam where he landed the aircraft. The patient was loaded into the helicopter and flown to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment.
The entire Henry 1 crew routinely trains for long line rescues in the ocean, on cliffs and other remote areas located along the North Coast. They are well-prepared for the emergency calls to assist law enforcement, medical response and rescue operations in the unique regions of our county and adjoining regions.
For additional information on the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Helicopter unit, please visit www.friendsofhenry1.org
Prepared by Deputy Sheriff Chris Mahoney (707) 565-7195
Address/Location
Sonoma County Sheriff's Office
2796 Ventura Ave
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
Contact
Emergency: 9-1-1
Non-emergencies: 707-565-2650