Western Australia’s Emergency Rescue Helicopter Service, RAC Rescue, has successfully flown its 9,000th mission.
It happened when the on-shift Critical Care Paramedic answered a call from the triple-zero dispatcher, who confirmed a 17-year-old boy was seriously injured after a quad bike rolled in the Lancelin sand dunes.
RAC Rescue flew to the scene and the Critical Care Paramedic quickly treated the patient, stabilised him for transport and transferred him to the helicopter.
The pilot set course for Royal Perth Hospital and landed on the rooftop heliport, where the patient was handed over to the medical team. Thankfully, the teenager had non-life-threatening injuries.
Commissioner for Emergency Services, Darren Klemm said Western Australia was the largest Emergency Services Jurisdiction in the Southern Hemisphere and the crew and staff of RAC Rescue had done an outstanding job saving lives across the vast State.
“The highly-trained crews can provide 24/7 rescue response and urgent medical care in the air, winch down to mountains or rough seas to treat and rescue a patient, respond to search-and-rescue missions over land and ocean and complete flood rescues,” Commissioner Klemm said.
“No two missions are the same. Past missions include evacuating patients off cargo and cruise ships, saving people stranded by flooding near Carnarvon and rescuing hikers caught on Bluff Knoll in severe weather.
“The Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) is proud to operate RAC Rescue, a critical arm of the Emergency Services sector that works alongside career firefighters, DFES volunteers, WA Police Force, St John’s Ambulance and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority,” the Commissioner for Emergency Services said.
