Over the years, I’ve watched many departments (including my own) set up landing zones (LZ) for air medical services; almost all of them do it differently. I’ve even seen the same department set up the LZ differently each time they do it — no consistency. A few years ago, a firefighter at my department asked me why the helicopter moved closer to him when he moved his arms above his head. I asked him to show me how he moved his arms, which he did. My response: “Because you told the pilot to move toward you.”

Like so many of us, this firefighter clearly hadn’t taken the time to look over the air medical services handbook in a while. This gave me an idea. That day, I set out to write some basic standard operating guidelines (SOGs) for LZ operations, and I am pleased to share them with you today. Here they are:

I.  PURPOSE
The purpose of this guideline is to define and explain the operations and safety precautions when landing [air medical services] helicopters at the scene of an emergency. This guideline may not cover all situations. The decision to deviate from it rests with the on-scene incident commander and/or the crew of the aircraft.

II.  General Guidelines
 A. For the purpose of this SOG, the [air medical services] Helicopter Handbook shall be followed.
 B. On-scene radio communications shall be established with the aircraft as soon as possible.

III.  Response
 A. When dispatched to assist in [air medical services] landing zone operations only, apparatus response shall be one rescue company and one engine company.

That's it. Set up the LZ in accordance with the air medical provider's guidance, and you won’t have many, if any, problems. If you’re over-thinking how to land a helicopter because you watched “Platoon” the night before, you’ll have problems.

Now, if you’re 10 to 15 minutes away from air medical service like we are, it’s also a good idea to select several LZs. Many times, we’re a 5 minute run from the airport or a large parking lot only used on Sundays, etc. These areas have few overhead wires, less traffic and get your people out of the roadway. Obviously, people who aren’t in the roadway are less likely to be struck by a vehicle running through your scene. Further, you can preplan them LZs ith GPS, including the best lines of approach, etc.