Mountain rescue

The mountain rescue indicate the whole of the means implemented to carry help to the patients and victims of accidents or faintnesses in Montagne.

The mountain is a not easily foreseeable and dangerous medium:

risk of Avalanche in winter;
risks of crumbling;
presence of Crack S, Chasm S, cliff S, steep slopes being able to cause falls;
quickly changing time, with risks of Wind and storm violent one, changes of fast Temperature.

This medium is all the more favourable with the accidents which he is attended in holiday periods by little accustomed people and thus knowing little about the dangers, and practitioner of the activities sometimes at the risk (Varappe, Alpinisme, Parapente).

The mountain rescues require a great knowledge of the mountain on behalf of the rescuers, as well as a great autonomy because of the distance of the structures of care and the difficulties of access to bring personal and material. The use of the Hélicoptère is very frequent.

Mountain rescues in France

In France, the mountain rescues are primarily assured by two public agencies:

the gendarmes of the Groups of alpine gendarmerie (PGHM);
police of the republican companies of safety (CRS);
to a lesser extent by the firemen titular of the units of values " help in montagne" in accordance with the national guide of reference of the ministry for the interior (December 2000). The personnel generally also forms part of the Groups of research and intervention in perilous medium (GRIMP). They intervene in mountain, as well as the means of the PGHM/CRS. The plans of departmental helps can organize alternation.

The department of High Savoy preserves in its plan of help the “Companies of mountain rescue”. These SM (covering 9 all the department) consist of voluntary formed and trained (for the majority professionals of the Mountain) which comes in reinforcement from Units PGHM or CRS in research operations from anybody or of rescue on avalanche.

When the evacuation is héliportée, the victim can be deposited directly on the heliport of the hospital, or of course a zone of demounting to be dealt with by Ambulance, in general private.

The use of civils servant in charge of the maintenance of law and order for the missions of help is explained by the fact why in France, these missions are primarily seasonal (very related to the leisures). Because of knowledge necessary of the medium and required drive, it is to have better recourse to personnel always present on the spot (thus having another mission the remainder of the year) and having a great physical drive. A certain number of these people are guides or candidate-guides of high mountain. In addition, this office plurality of function First-aid worker/Judiciary police officer enables them to raise the elements of the investigation making it possible to know the reasons of the accident, while carrying out the helps (thus saving in means). This policy option is related to these conditions, and is not inevitably adapted to other contexts of mountain, in particular for countries as the Suisse where the mountain rescues are not seasonal workers but take place all along the year.

In France, 6 helicopters, 3 of the civil security and 3 of the gendarmerie, in alarm 24:00 on 24, furrow the alpine solid mass and alternate according to the rate of 8 days of guard and 8 days of rest. All the crews use electric Alouette III and winches being able to hoist stretchers at the speed of 0,50 meters per second.

On the skiables fields, the helps are ensured by the tracker-first-aid workers (alpine or Scandinavian).

History of the mountain rescue in France

Companies of mountain rescue were created at the beginning of the 20th century, such as for example the Committee from the Dauphine of mountain rescue in 1910.

CRS take part in the mountain rescue since 1948; they were committed at the origin in reinforcement at the time of important accidents, such as for example the accident of the Malabar Princess , to become with the fur and with-measurement of the actors with whole share. CRS created the National center of drive to the alpinism and ski (CNEAS) on January 4th, 1955, which Piguillem directed, the inventor of the Brancard bearing its name.

The accident of Jean Vincendon and François Henry in December 1956 involved the creation of the specialized Group of high mountain in January 1957, which will become the PGHM of Chamonix. This operation was the first attempt at help héliporté in high mountain, during which the helicopter was crushed.

Mountain rescues in Switzerland

In Swiss, the mountain rescues are carried out by Rega (acronym formed of the words German and French Re ttungsflugwacht and ga rde air ). Rega is the Swiss air Guard of rescue, a deprived foundation with nonlucrative goal: it does not receive any State grant. The helps of Rega are started by calling the “1414” by Téléphone.

Rega was created in 1952, under the name of Swiss air Garde of rescue (GASS), by members of the Swiss Company of rescue (SSS). Since 1965, it is “organization of assistance associated with the Swiss Croix-Rouge” (CRS), of which it is corporative member since 1981.

Rega has ten helicopters distributed on ten bases giving access any point of the territory in fifteen minutes (except for Were worth whose helps of mountains are ensured by Air Glaciers): Basle, Bern, Erstfeld, Gsteigwiler, Lausanne, Locarno, Samedan, Saint-Gall, Untervaz and Zurich. It also has three planes stationed in Zurich for medical repatriations.

External bonds

Official site of Rega

Random links: