Firefighters get medivac training in the Black Hills - KOTA Territory News

Firefighters get medivac training in the Black Hills

If you're hiking in the hills and break your leg or something worse, these men and women will know what to do. Helicopters and radios; two things state and federal fire fighters learned to use in emergency situations Friday.

There were trainees from the Black Hills National Forest, Nebraska National Forest, and other local and state agencies.

Firefighters learned how to communicate with helicopters as well as get someone injured out of the woods and on the way to a hospital.

Life flight medic Anthony Vopat says training like this can make a huge difference in a real emergency, and it could mean life or death. "Be it a trauma or medical emergency time is very critical, and so this is one of the aspects where we can reduce that time. Going out and training and making sure everybody's spun up with access, how to get that access going and get those recourses coming as quick as you can," said Vopat.

Robert Schilling, an engine boss from Custer has firsthand experience with emergency similar to what was simulated Friday. "It's always a little bit different when you're training then in real life, but often times you find that in a real life emergency the training you receive kicks in and it makes it a little more comfortable," said Schilling.

This is the second year of medivac helicopter training. Vopat says exercises like this help point out weaknesses and obstacles that could come up in responding to an actual emergency.