Bob Zimmerman is talking about the decision by BC Emergency Health Services to station a Helicopter Air Ambulance in Prince George…
“It is a great benefit for the complete northeast area for us to have a helicopter based out of Prince George. In the past when we’ve had emergency health services call for us to help, we sometimes have to depend on other private helicopter companies to take the person from where we bring them out to, take them to the hospital. This way, if there is a dedicated air ambulance helicopter out of Prince George, they’d be more readily available for us to use.”
Zimmerman says time can sometimes make a huge difference…
“It definitely could save lives, and the time difference in general would be, if the helicopter isn’t tied up already on another call of course. They’re only half an hour away from Prince George to the Quesnel area, and sometimes as they call it the golden hours when it comes to someone having to get to a hospital for assistance, it’s very important to get them there as quick as we can.”
Zimmerman says it is especially helpful because we have such a large area…
“The northeast area is from 100 Mile House all the way up to the northern border of the province over to Alberta, and as far over to the west as Vanderhoof up north, and we go all the way out to the Itchas, and Williams Lake goes all the way out to Bella Bella.”
Zimmerman says Quesnel Search and Rescue covers an area of approximately 24,000 square kilometers on its own.
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