By Stephanie Grinnell
Staff Writer
    Residents of Maplewood Avenue in Biddeford may have wondered what was going on late Saturday morning when a helicopter touched down across the street from Biddeford High School and the Center of Technology. The residents need not have worried, however, as the aircraft was part of training for the Biddeford Fire Department.
    The training was to help firefighters understand the operations of Lifeflight, a non profit, statewide, critical care medical helicopter service. According to the Web site www.lifeflightmaine.org, it is the only helicopter service in the state and is operated by Eastern Maine Health Care Systems and Central Maine Medical Family.
    The two helicopters, based in Lewiston and Bangor, can be called for emergency situations anywhere across the northeast, but fire department and emergency response personnel must be trained properly regarding the times to summon the helicopter as well as establishing a suitable landing zone for the aircraft.
     The helicopter requires a minimum landing zone (LZ) of 100 by 100 feet but “good pilots can land just about anywhere,” said Biddeford Deputy Chief Marc Bellefeuille, who added Southern Maine Medical Center in Biddeford has plans to construct a helipad in the future to facilitate helicopter landings.
    Sue Hadiaris of Southern Maine Medical Center said there is not a time frame for the construction of a helipad at the hospital but there is an area set aside to serve the purpose. She said the medical center does not currently have the funds to support the construction.
    Maine Medical Center in Portland recently put its helipad into service. Tilney said in the four weeks since the opening of the helipad, 30 flights have transported patients in the two helicopters.
    “In some situations, it’s starting to make sense,” said Tilney of the increasing use of helicopter transport.
    Lifeflight Instructor Pete Tilney, a Kennebunk resident, has been a paramedic for eight years. He came to Biddeford to teach a class of three dozen firefighters about typical Lifeflight operations as well as answer questions from the group.
    The morning classroom session was capped by a visit from the helicopter, which landed in the Center of Technology parking lot around 10:30 a.m. Firefighters were able to explore the aircraft and its equipment as well as practice loading a volunteer patient on a longboard into the helicopter.
    Lifeflight personnel, including a pilot, a flight nurse and flight paramedic were also on hand to answer questions from the firefighters.
    Several firefighters brought their children to see the helicopter up close. The children explored the aircraft and had their picture taken but were not as excited to hear the roar of the landing and the take off. Some wore headphones to protect their hearing.
    The “rotor wake” kicked up particles of dirt and empty coffee cups in the parking lot, pelting firefighters and other onlookers not sheltered behind a fire truck.
    Most calls involving Lifeflight involve burns, multiple patients or major trauma, said Tilney. Another criteria when departments could contact Lifeflight is a situation when an extrication from a vehicle takes longer than 30 minutes.
    Lifeflight also carries a small supply of blood, something not accessible to ambulance crews. In cases of major blood loss, Lifeflight can be another life-saving option for patients, Tilney said.
    If the helicopter is called but doesn’t transport a patient to a hospital, there is no charge to the patient or the municipality who summoned the aircraft. The company essentially swallows the costs of flights not resulting in transport, said Tilney, adding most insurance covers the cost of helicopter transport, as does Medicare.
    Tilney said there is a 12 to 15 minute flight time from Lewiston to Biddeford and an eight to 10 minute flight to Maine Medical Center from Biddeford.
    With a hospital located in the city, people may wonder why the fire department would need to call Lifeflight. Reasons Biddeford firefighters might want to call Lifeflight include a patient in need of transport to Boston for care due to extensive trauma, amputations or burns, said Tilney. He said where the patient is taken sometimes depends on the doctor or surgeon on duty’s confidence in handling the injury.
    Often, there is a competition between medical services when more than one agency is involved in taking care of a patient, but Tilney assured firefighters Lifeflight is only there to help the patient, not take credit for ground paramedic’s care.
    “We’re just psyched to be there,” he said, adding he tries to update departments on the progress of patients as well. “If I know what happened, you’ll know what happened.”
    Tileny said Lifeflight can land in a variety of weather situations and ground situations, including in snow and on ice.
    “Even if you think the weather is crummy, still call,” he said.
    Several of the pilots are certified to fly using IFR, or instrument flight rules. The additional training allows pilots to fly in more weather conditions, lessening time the aircraft is grounded.
    The Agusta A109E model helicopters can fly up to 200 miles per hour with the wind at their back. To demonstrate the speed of the aircrat, Tilney gave the example of a flight from Lewiston to North Conway, N.H., which normally takes two hours by car. He said the helicopter can make the flight in 15 minutes.
    The interior of the helicopter is set up like an ambulance but there are more medications and advanced equipment available to Lifeflight personnel than the average ground paramedic.
    There are criteria for a landing zone that must be met for safety of all involved, including marking a landing zone with lights at night as well as marking obstructions that could cause a hazard to the helicopter, such as power lines, rocks and trees.
    Another concern is debris on the ground. Tilney said it can become entangled with the rotors or sucked into the engine. He said land with less than a five percent grade is ideal, as are areas such as airports and the turnpike.
    “We don’t have to go to the scene every time,” he noted.
    There should be a landing zone coordinator to communicate with the helicopter, Tilney said. The only time other personnel should communicate with the aircraft on the radio is if the aircraft is in danger, then anyone can hail them and instruct them to abort the landing.
    Contact Stephanie Grinnell by calling 282-4337 ext. 213 or email news@inthecourier.com.