New Unit To Serve Montreal, Will Improve Response Times

Quebec, Canada's non-profit air ambulance service unveiled a new helicopter Monday that will cover the Montreal area.

AirMédic's new Dauphin AS365 (file photo of type, right) will be housed, along with its crew, in new quarters in Mirabel, according to the Montreal Gazette.

"Montreal has finally joined the ranks of all other major cities in North America to have a helicopter ambulance service," declared Jean Lambert, AirMédic's vice-president of public affairs.

The company had been launching rented helicopters from a base at the St. Hubert airport that resulted in longer response times.

"It didn't always allow us to have all the equipment we need or a wide range of possibilities that one encounters when doing one of these operations," Lambert said.

Their new helo features two 800-horsepower engines and can carry two pilots, a four-man medical crew and up to two stretchers.

The new quarters comes complete with, "Everything we need for air medivac services," Lambert said, including sleeping and kitchen areas for round-the-clock staffing and a hangar.

"This allows us to take off much more quickly," Lambert said. "Within 10 or 12 minutes, we can be airborne with the proper staff and the proper equipment we need to respond."

Founded in Chicoutimi in 2000, the air ambulance also ferries organs, transplant patients and transplant teams. It is supported financially by sponsors and benefactors as well as 104,000 member donors.

FMI: www.airmedic.net