Working with partners in the helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) such as Midlands Air Ambulance Charity (MAAC), FEC Heliports has developed a product suite designed not only to extend operational flying hours but also to extend safe HEMS coverage to an ever-increasing number of sites, both urban and rural, without the need for expensive helipads.
The latest addition to FEC Heliports portable lighting range is the HEMS-Station Solar Plus, which brings together a package of products that allows pre-designated and surveyed landing sites to be equipped with everything necessary for safe day and night HEMS operations.
The new HEMS-Station Solar Plus consists of a secure and relocatable charging and storage cabinet for up to 10 HEMS-Star portable lights, a remote lighting controller and now comes complete with solar panel and solar powered illuminated wind cone — meaning that it is completely independent of local power supplies in times of power disruption and is always ready when needed. Smart technology also allows the system to switch to whichever power supply is cheapest or greenest. The lights are either deployed by trained staff such as ambulance drivers or local volunteers.
HEMS-Station is especially useful for those hospitals that do not currently have helipads or the budget to build them. It means that hospital authorities can identify safe landing sites in or near the hospital and enable them with HEMS-Station. It could be a hospital car park or garden or maybe a nearby park or school field. Once surveyed and fitted with the HEMS-Station, the site can be quickly illuminated on demand. This allows these hospitals to transfer patients quickly and safely to larger hospitals for specialist treatment.
In addition to hospitals, HEMS-Station can be installed at remote rural locations and a whole range of key high-risk locations such as motorway service stations, sports grounds, theme parks, ski resorts or fire and police stations; providing for safe day, night and poor visibility HEMS operations.
Four units have already been sold to a UK Air Ambulance operator for designated helipads in rural or off grid locations. These units are completely autonomous and include the illuminated wind cone and solar power source.
The system can be installed within a couple of days and is ready to use immediately. HEMS-Station is a turnkey solution to the problem of how to achieve cost effective safe secondary landing areas in any type of location, with or without existing infrastructure.
