LYME — On Monday evening, members of Lyme Ambulance and Lyme Fire Company turned out to train with a Life Star crew. The training exercise included the Life Star helicopter landing in a field at Tiffany Farm on Hamburg Rd., which is one of the specified landing zones in Lyme.
The fire and ambulance service members that participated in the exercise described it as, “A great night of training.”
In operation for more than 35 years, Life Star is Harford Hospital’s critical care 24/7 air medical service.
Trained crews, including medical personnel flying out of Midstate Medical Center in Meriden and William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich, transport more than 1,000 trauma and emergency patients each year. The crew consists of a flight nurse, flight respiratory therapist, pilot, mechanic, and communication specialist.
The LIFE STAR service operates two American American Eurocopter EC-145. Both can travel at 155 miles per hour and either can be airborne within minutes of a request for service.
Given the life-or-death nature of their mission, Life Star helicopters have air space priority over virtually every other plane in Connecticut.