Medical-helicopter crash, response simulated in training at Mesa medical center

The majority of the six “victims” in a recent mock helicopter crash in Mesa had no outward sign they were injured but were identified by the bright pink vests they were wearing.

Those being trained were told it was a simulation of a medical-helicopter transfer of a pregnant patient from the HonorHealth Florence Medical Center with a hard landing with injuries on the helipad at HonorHealth Mountain Vista Medical Center in Mesa.

Mesa Fire and Medical Department and Superstition Fire and Medical District personnel, who were already on-site when the call came in at 9 a.m. June 5, donned full firefighting gear in the 90-plus-degree heat before assessing the patients’ needs, deciding by triage which patient needed care first, setting up and using a water hose and running caution tape for part