North Shore Rescue is now able to do nighttime “hoist” rescues from helicopters as it has gotten approval from Emergency Management B.C.
It’s something the rescue team has been asking for for several years.
North Shore Rescue team leader Mike Danks said with the approval for these types of rescues, it now has a “complete toolbox.”
“This is like having a complete toolbox because we were able to fly at night (with night-vision goggles) and locate people that were in very tricky situations and terrain that would be very challenging for our members to get to, especially at night,” Danks said.
“With this tool available to us, it will take far less people to extract people very quickly at night.”
Danks also said the approval of the nighttime hoists provides a safety net for their volunteers, if they are injured during a rescue.
The announcement for nighttime hoist rescues comes on the heels of a nighttime incident when North Shore Rescue could not hoist a B.C. doctor to safety. He had became stuck on a North Shore mountain after dislocating a shoulder mid-climb.
Although the search and rescue team found Dr. Jason Clement, they could not rescue him due to limitations for nighttime hoists. Search and rescue volunteers had to resort to giving the doctor supplies to last through the night.
Clement was rescued several hours later by a military helicopter.
“I would have been fine until the morning, but if any number of other variables were present — if I had a head injury or a bad leg injury or it was raining or it was colder — those extra hours, I think, would be critical,” said Clement.
“The inability to lift somebody out in the dark could make the difference between being able to save their life and pulling out a body in the morning.”
Danks said the approval of using night-vision goggles for hoists is only a verbal agreement at this time but they are anticipating an official program “written down and documented” by Nov. 1.
—With files from Global BC’s Elizabeth McSheffrey and Julie Nolan.