By Darlene Denstorff
The Advocate
GONZALES, La. — Sarah Oleksa, flashlight in hand, walked to the edge of the woods and placed a light next to a line of trees.
Some 200 feet away, Erica Villar dropped a blue light next to a large garbage container.
The two women, both volunteer firefighters, were taking part in a training course designed to teach them what to do during the night landing of a helicopter at the scene of an emergency.
Just minutes after marking the obstructions in the area around the new Seventh District Fire Station, Oleksa used her cell phone to guide helicopter pilots John Vance and Bruce Blanchard to a safe landing.
As Oleksa told the pilots what to expect as they approached the field, Villar tried to quiet the more than 40 firefighters who were taking part in the training.
During a briefing session on the exercise, Vance said Oleksa did a “great job for her first time.”
Oleksa, 22, with the Galvez-Lake Volunteer fire Department, said she was nervous during the exercise and learned that she needed to write down what she wanted to tell the pilots before opening up line of communications.
“Next time, I’ll have a piece of paper and write everything down first,” she said.
Admitting she was a bit nervous, Oleksa, who took on the role of the landing zone coordinator during the training exercise, said she feels confident that if an emergency arose she would be able to properly land the helicopter.
Instructor Clint Braud, who works for Acadian Ambulance and Air Med Services and volunteers with Seventh District Volunteer Fire Department, said pilots depend on firefighters on the ground to tell them about obstructions and landing conditions and mark the site during a night landing.
Stressing safety, Braud outlined the procedures the volunteers must follow when a patient needs to be transported by a helicopter at night.
This year, Braud said, there have been 16 deaths related to emergency medical air transport.
Ascension Parish Fire Protection District 1 Coordinator Gene Witek said each department working at emergency scenes must complete the Night Landing Coordinator Course.
“We will not land if no one on the ground has been certified as a landing zone coordinator,” Braud said, adding that pilots have limited visibility during a nigh landing.
“When they come in, it’s just black,” Braud said. “You’re their eyes at night.
“We depend on you to do a thorough, slow meaningful recon of the area at night,” he added.
The pilots, who are employed by Metro Aviation Inc., and fly for Air Med, said communication with the landing zone coordinator is key to a safe landing.
Braud said flights have to be canceled if no one at the scene can properly mark the landing site and communicate with the pilot during the landing.
While a helicopter is not always the fastest way to get a patient to a hospital, Braud said in rural areas and during peak traffic times it is necessary to use the helicopter.
Galvez-Lake volunteer firefighter Karen James was attending the class for the second time. James said she has not had to use the skills learned at the class, “but they’re nice to know if you need them.”
Witek said 44 firefighter from Seventh District, Prairieville, Galvez-Lake, Fifth Ward and St. Amant fire departments attended the course, which was held at the Ascension Parish Public Safety Center on Airline Highway.