Two Week Annual Training Completed

The Two Bear Air Rescue crew finished up their annual two week training on Thursday.   Every year the crew from Two Bear Air Rescue joins other SAR agencies in mock drills and intensive scenarios designed to simulate real emergencies.  This year’s focus was on Night Water operations.  The crew performed simulated rescues extracting victims from swiftwater and openwater boating accidents.  Due to the proximity of the Flathead River System and Flathead Lake, Two Bear Air Rescue responds to many of these types of calls.  

North Valley Search and Rescue assisted with the Swift Water training, which was conducted on the North Fork of the Flathead River, and Flathead Search and Rescue assisted with the Open Water scenario in Flathead Lake.  Both of these Search and Rescue teams consist of volunteers from all across Flathead County.

The Two Bear Air Rescue crew finished up the 2 week training  with mock scenarios along the Clark Fork river near Paradise, Montana.  Each crew member is paired up to complete 3 missions made up of Swiftwater, High Angle and Medical.  This year’s medical was a compound femur break and included a new extraction device from Cascade Rescue Company® in Sandpoint, Idaho.

This device is similar to the current one used by Two Bear Air Rescue with an addition of a “Rotation Brake System”.

This system eliminates the need for a tagline when the Rescue Specialist rides up with the patient saving the crew time while also increasing their safety.

Sanders County Search and Rescue assisted with the Swiftwater and High Angle scenarios along the Clark Fork river for the scenarios.