From the Flight Deck

Marshfield has multiple landing zones for emergency MedFlight access. But the Fire Department clearly prefers to use Marshfield Municipal Airport.

That was the case when a 911 call came in on June 2 about a motorcycle accident on Careswell Street, near the Duxbury line.

“One option for us was to use Winslow School,” said Deputy Fire Chief Patrick Smith. Winslow is located just off Careswell, near Webster Street. “But with our working relationship with the airport, we thought best to go there. So, we didn’t have to notify the school, and we knew we could use a solid pad instead of an open field.”

Smith explained that the 911 caller gave a good, detailed report.

“We prestarted a MedFlight request because they were so specific,” he said. “I called the airport when we got the first ETA.”

Shoreline Aviation staffers got right into action. Shoreline manages the airport for the town and provides a variety of services to the aviation and travel communities.

“They moved three planes to make a bigger safety area,” Smith said. “That was phenomenal; MedFlight really appreciated it. Shoreline is always fantastic to work with. They made it so there was not much for us to do but focus on the patient.”

A patient involved in a motorcycle accident is loaded into a Boston MedFlight helicopter at Marshfield Airport.

The patient sustained significant injuries, Smith said. “Last we knew, the person was in critical but stable condition in a Boston hospital.”

The flight came out of Plymouth Municipal Airport, which houses Boston MedFlight’s secondary communications and clinical simulation center and provides rapid access to the South Shore, South Coast, Cape Cod and the islands, according to Boston MedFlight’s website. The organization is headquartered in Bedford at Hanscom Field.

Smith noted that that another motorcycle accident occurred later that day in Plympton. MedFlight sent a team there from Mansfield. Both Plymouth and Mansfield locations support air and ground critical support transport.

MFD coordinated MedFlight transport from the airport last November and the previous December.

The department conducts annual training exercises at the airport and is planning to do a program there with the State Police Air Wing.

“We want to thank everybody there at the airport that day,” Smith said. “Everyone who works there is great to work with, a huge help clearing aircraft and making things as safe as possible. We appreciate the great working relationship.”

In the cover photo, Boston MedFlight lifts off with a motorcycle accident patient from Marshfield Municipal Airport. Photo courtesy of Marshfield Fire Department