Dalton firefighters stage helicopter landing-zone training with University of Chicago Medicine

Deputy Chief John Calhoun of the Dalton Fire Department introduced a new training segment called “Charlie Sector” and described a landing-zone and hot-load drill staged at Bud’s Ambulance with University of Chicago Medicine.

Calhoun said the segment will show the department’s “Charlie” side — the unseen rear side of buildings — and walked viewers through the day’s training, which included setting up a helicopter landing zone, approaching aircraft safely, and loading a patient while rotors are still turning. “This is gonna be called Charlie, Charlie Sector,” Calhoun said.

Mark, an event coordinator, told participants that the University of Chicago Medical Center brought its helicopter, UCAN, to lead a safety class covering landing-zone setup, how to call for the helicopter, approach procedures, loading a patient on board a hot helicopter, and hot unloads. “They’re gonna do a safety class on how to set up a landing zone, how to call for the helicopter, how to approach the helicopter, how to load a patient on board a hot helicopter,” Mark said. He also said the exercise included a raffle for one Bud’s employee to serve as the training patient and take a short flight.

The drill involved multiple local EMS and fire units identified by Mark as Mavis 24 and several Mavis 22 departments, as well as paramedic programs, students from the Black Fire Brigade and elected officials observing the training. A participant identified as the landing-zone coordinator described receiving the crew’s patient information once the aircraft arrived, overseeing the transfer of care, and later touring the aircraft to learn about crew roles and safety features.

Deputy Chief Calhoun, who said he has been deputy chief for about two years and has more than 30 years in the fire service, said the training taught personnel “what we need to do in order to actually have the area safe for everyone, packaging up the patient, and preparing for landing.” The transcript notes an expected helicopter landing time around 11:45 a.m. for the exercise.

The session was presented as a training and outreach activity rather than a formal policy action; no votes or official departmental decisions were recorded in the transcript. The segment was described as the first episode of the department’s “Charlie Sector” series and intended to give the public a behind-the-scenes look at landing-zone operations and interagency coordination.

Participants and observers included Dalton Fire Department personnel, University of Chicago Medicine flight crew, Bud’s Ambulance staff, area Mavis-designated EMS units, paramedic program students, Black Fire Brigade students and local elected officials. The training topics listed in the transcript were landing-zone setup, approach safety, hot loading and hot unloading procedures, patient packaging for air transport, and aircraft safety features.

No funding sources, ordinances, or regulatory citations are mentioned in the transcript. The transcript does not indicate any formal assignments, formal mutual-aid agreements, or operational changes resulting from the drill.