First off – many thanks to all those that supported our fundraiser for the litter! Our Search and Rescue Team Leader had been hoping for a “real” winter for a winter training session. Enough of a winter that members could test out their winter gear and we could move a patient on our new litter in sled mode. He finally decided that with spring approaching we weren’t going to get a winter so he planned a joint exercise with Pajarito K9’s to review winter SAR techniques, practice treating hypothermia patients and use our new litter with a “real” patient. The photo above shows our “patient” nicely wrapped to preserve what little body heat a severely hypothermic patient has and keep them dry. Thanks for a great session and a great turnout from both teams!
Shown here is a close up of the handle system on the head of the litter. Notice the brake lever on the left hand side. A disc brake on the fat wheel helps control downhill speed. Our training hill wasn’t very steep so didn’t have a chance to test the brakes full capabilities but it appears it will be a great help.
And here is a close up of the handle system attached to the tail of the litter. The handle system is splined so the team can adjust the angle of the handles to match the terrain. Notice here the handles are angled down to account for being downhill of the litter. This way we can keep the patient level but keep the litter tender arm’s at a comfortable level. The previous photo the handles were angled upward to account for the uphill position.