Photo courtesy of
Disaster Airborne Response Teams, a nonprofit, non-governmental rescue unit plans to use its two Cessna 206 planes to improve access to backcountry rescue sites and other emergency scenes in Colorado and the six surrounding states.
DARTS will fly emergency first responders, all highly trained volunteers, to dirt roads and open spaces to get rescuers as close to the scene as possible in a speedy manner. Pilot Morgan Garvey, director of , cites the Hurricane Katrina disaster—where emergency crews had problems accessing those in trouble—as part of his inspiration for starting his nonprofit, which aims to save more lives and reduce rescue costs.
“All emergency services have trouble getting to emergency sites,” Garvey says. “If a mountain rescue team in Aspen has to drive drive all the way to the Grand Tetons, it will turn into a recovery mission.”
Garvey explains that using air transport to get the right rescue teams where they're needed will render rescue operations more efficient and successful.
What's more, the rescued won't have to cough up any cash for DARTS' services, good news in a time when many government rescue teams are hitting folks with hefty bills for being alive.
Want to avoid rescue scenarios altogether? Read The New Rules of Survival from our November 2009 issue, and pay attention.
–Nick Davidson