Helicopter team practices at BC3
BUTLER TWP — Beyond the facade of a quiet summer day on the Butler County Community College campus, emergency crews trained for worst-case natural disaster scenarios at the college's Public Safety Training Center.
About 40 members of the Pennsylvania Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team practiced hoisting people from dangerous areas Wednesday, simulating four different disaster situations. Two UH-60 Black Hawk aircraft deftly moved people from water and wilderness settings, simulating what could happen in a real emergency during a flash flood.
“Because the amount of natural disasters continues to increase, it seems, year after year after year, this is another outstanding asset the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has as a tool to help people in those situations,” said Chris Calhoun, a rescue specialist with the team who also is the parks and recreation program coordinator at BC3. “Up until last year, when swift water rescue teams would deploy during these natural disasters, if they got themselves in trouble ... there really wasn't another option available.”
PA-HART is there to assist other emergency crews working at ground level. Training at BC3 wraps up today.
“When you've used all your wrenches in the box, this is your specialized team,” said Scott Grahn, Senior Strike Team Leader with PA-HART.
With many members layered in head-to-toe waterproof gear, they were urged to keep hydrated in the 90 plus degree heat.
They train in various parts of Pennsylvania about every six weeks, practicing for different catastrophic events. The group, comprised of National Guard members and civilian swift water rescue technicians, last trained at the BC3 campus in October.
“They have everything here,” Grahn said, referring to campus. “They have the capabilities.”
From high rises to water to wooded areas, the surroundings are perfect for many kinds of simulations, he said.
The group has not yet been involved in a real emergency, but members have been training for about a year now.
It's not a matter of if, but when they'll be used, Calhoun said.
But even when training for an emergency, things don't always go as planned. A heavy fog in Johnstown, where the Black Hawk helicopters are stored, postponed training until the afternoon Wednesday. The planned start was 9 a.m.
Crews condensed their training session Wednesday, going through two simulations at the same time. They will be going through the same training today.
