This team doesn’t hear the scream of sirens but the thump of helicopter blades

By Ashley McDowell

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    BALTIMORE (WMAR) — Firefighters from different areas of the state paired with the Maryland Army National Guard to train for worse case scenarios in the event of a water rescue.

In an emergency, this team doesn’t hear the scream of sirens they hear the thump of helicopter blades.

Maryland’s Helicopter Aquatic Response Team, HART, pairs with the Maryland Army National Guard to conduct hoist operations training.

When the Key Bridge collapsed, they were on scene ready to put the training they learned into action.

The team specializes in helicopter rescue to respond to natural disasters and other emergencies that may require air lift.

“Everything we do is scripted, and we rely on muscle memory we’re very strict on following safety procedures and following our standard procedures,” said Mike Berna, who is the Maryland HART Program Manager.

That’s what eliminates accidents according to Berna. He said Maryland HART is a close knit team consisting of 23 members.

“Encompasses rescuers from Howard County, Baltimore County, Harford County and Montgomery County fire departments,” said Berna.

“It’s a constant adaptation to the days struggles and challenges, no day is the same,” said Will Tobin who is the Chief Warrant Officer 3 in the Maryland Army National Guard.

Tobin is the is the pilot with the Army National Guard, for him, these rescues are invigorating.

“There’s a moment in the initial takeoff where you’re not really sure where you’re going or what you’re doing as far as what you’ve been called for and that can be exciting,” said Tobin.

In the air down to the water, coordination between the two is key to making sure operations run smooth.

“The fire department brings that resource and that knowledge and experience to operate in the water board environment while the military provides the hardware and people to operate in the airborne environment,” said Christopher Niner, who is the Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Swimmer.

Niner can fill many positions when it comes to rescue. A firefighter for Baltimore County and part time for Harford County EMS, while also serving with the Maryland Army National Guard, he sees it all.

This mission is rescuing water bound victims. Starting with a briefing, then it’s straight into action when locating the victims.

“Whether it be me going to get one victim or I have to go down and look at the scenario and figure out what’s going on with multiple victims and communicate back to the rest of the aircrew and let them know whether I need special equipment, do I need a second rescuer, how are we going to extricate these victims from this scenario,” said Niner.

Operations training is conducted every month by the team.

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