Rescue crews train in Niagara Falls Gorge
April 21, 2008
Printed by the Review
Rescue crews go way up; Training exercise prepares them for work in gorge
Posted By ALISON LANGLEY
For Canadian and American emergency service workers, it was truly high-level training with Niagara Helicopters.
A team of about 20 people underwent helicopter short-haul training Friday, which involves suspending rescuers on a 40-metre rope underneath a helicopter and flying them a short distance to conduct a rescue in a location that would be too dangerous or time consuming by other means.
Participants were tethered in pairs and flown from Niagara Helicopters on Victoria Avenue to a landing pad at the bottom of the Niagara gorge. The flight took approximately two minutes.
First developed in Switzerland in the 1960s, the local version of the program started as a joint venture between the Niagara Parks Police and Niagara Helicopters in 2003. (more…)
