The ARA Flugrettung recently became a member of the ICAR (International Commission for Alpine Rescue). The purpose of the organisation, which has 72 members, is to further develop alpine rescue and safety. The unanimous decision to include the ARA Flugrettung was taken at the ICAR Conference in Lake Tahoe, USA, which was attended by the delegates from 33 countries. The ARA Flugrettung can contribute its know-how gained from over 10 years of practical experience at its Austrian HEMS bases in Reutte/Tyrol and Fresach/Carinthia to the ICAR’s work.

Focal themes of the “Air rescue” committee at the ICAR conference in-cluded aviation incidents, rescue procedures and newly developed products. In addition, in the three other committees “Terrestrial rescue”, “Avalanche rescue” and “Alpine emergency medicine”, the delegates swapped information about the latest operations. A simulated avalanche exercise made it clear to all participants how important professional collaboration of the rescue teams is in ensuring safety at the place of action. The next con-ference will take place in 2015 in Ireland, where the focus will be on col-laboration between crew members from air rescue and terrestrial rescue.

“During the meeting of delegates at Lake Tahoe I presented the remit of the ARA Flugrettung. We are delighted to be accepted as a permanent member of the ICAR. In this way we can network even better at an international level”, reports Michael Schweiger, Chief Emergency Paramedic from the Reutte HEMS base, who will be the delegate representing the ARA Flugret-tung in the ICAR.
“By being included in the ICAR the ARA Flugrettung will benefit from a highly professional exchange of ideas. We would like to contribute our many years of know-how and also help to ensure high quality standards in alpine rescue”, explains Steffen Lutz, Managing Director of the ARA Flugrettung.

About the ARA Flugrettung

In 2001, the non-profit air rescue organization ARA-Flugrettungs GmbH was established. Its emergency helicopters bring fast medical help to emergency patients. The air rescue organization with headquarters in Kla-genfurt is a licensed company according to the existing guidelines for air rescue, holding an Air Operator Certificate (AOC).

The ARA emergency helicopters operate from the HEMS bases in Fresach/Carinthia and Reutte/Tyrol. The red-white helicopters are provided with a rescue winch. This special equipment is essential for the rescue of injured persons in mountain regions. The helicopters are staffed with ex-perienced pilots, emergency physicians, paramedics and mountain rescu-ers. The helicopters are provided with modern medical equipment and op-erate from 7 a.m. until sunset

The ARA-Flugrettungs GmbH belongs to DRF Luftrettung. The organisation operates 30 HEMS (Helicopter Emergency Medical Service) bases with over 50 helicopters for emergency rescue and intensive care transport be-tween hospitals, at eight bases even around the clock. In 2013 they flew a total of 38,180 missions. More information is available at www.drf-luftrettung.de.