Barneston Fire Department Unveils New Helicopter Pad

The Barneston Rural Volunteer Fire Department made use of a new helicopter landing pad Sunday night for the very first time. Long time Barneston Firefighter Gene Erdmann has spent the last year working to bring the project to fruition after he decided the community needed a helicopter pad in Barneston to use for landing the StarCare air ambulance when needed for transporting patients who need critical care.Prior to now, emergency crews have always either set up a landing zone on scene or on the old football field behind the Barneston Community Center. While this has worked, it can prove difficult and be unsafe depending on weather conditions and several other variables. Having a helicopter pad removes a number of those variables, and most importantly it gives us an area that is easy to identify from the air, easy to secure on the ground, and gives first responders a smooth flat surface to work on while transporting patients from the ambulance to the helicopter. Erdmann spearheaded the project, making countless phone calls, doing all of the leg work on researching what was needed and coordinating construction phases and resources, and put in countless hours in the summer heat preparing the pad with his own equipment and time.Ther are still some finishing touches to make when the weather warms back before it can be considered 100 percent complete. Barneston firefighters issued a statemen after the first use of the helicopter pad, “While unfortunate, and our thoughts and prayers are with the patient and their family, this was a bittersweet historic moment for our department. Another example of how our firefighters’ like Gene’s dedication and commitment to the community keep bringing positive results.” Funding for the helicopter pad was secured through a grant from the Thomas Sisters Foundation and through funds the department received as a memorial from the family of Firefighter Bill Peterson.

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