Tag Archives: helicopter

Coast Guard display at Balbriggan Beach – more photos added

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Coast Guard helicopter & Skerries Coast Guard response vehicle in formation, beside the Balbriggan Harbour Lighthouse

Local website, Balbriggan.info have just added more dramatic photos of our recent rescue display as part of the Balbriggan Community Safety week 2012.

 

 

Photos of the Balbriggan Fire Brigade car crash re-enactment are also available.

Members of Skerries Coast Guard with Dublin Fire Brigade personnel at the car crash re-enactment

Skerries Coast Guard – a voluntary coastal rescue unit of the Irish Coast Guard

Remember – if you spot someone in difficulty on the coast, even if you only think that someone could be in difficulty, dial 999 or 112 and ask for the COAST GUARD. Your call could save their life.

 

Training with Coast Guard helicopter

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This morning, the Skerries Coast Guard team took part in a helicopter operations training exercise with the crew of the Dublin based Coast Guard helicopter, EI-CXS. The helicopter landed at Red Island, Skerries at 10:00 where its crew gave a very detailed operations briefing to the Skerries team. The briefing also covered the various SAR equipment used onboard the helicopter, including infra red cameras (FLIR), Night Sun searchlight, winching operations and flight controls..

In advance of the helicopter’s arrival, the Skerries team cleared and prepared the Red Island landing zone. Smoke flares were also deployed by the team to assist the flight crew with determining the wind speed and direction during the landing.

This very enjoyable exercise forms part of the Skerries Coast Guard team’s regular training program.

Photos of the exercise are available in our online gallery.

Skerries Coast Guard – a voluntary rescue unit of the Irish Coast Guard

Training with Coast Guard helicopter

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At daybreak this morning, the volunteers of Skerries Coast Guard took part in their first training exercise of 2011. The team joined forces with the crew of the Coast Guard’s Dublin based Sikorsky S-61N helicopter (EI-MES) for some routine training.

The chosen landing site was at Red Island, near Skerries harbour with on scene weather conditions proving favourable to the training event.  After landing and rotor shutdown, the Skerries team were given an excellent ground briefing by the helicopter crew. This served as a useful refresher on helicopter operations, landing site selection & preparations, comms, embarking & disembarking techniques, winching, and the helicopter’s search & rescue equipment.

Once the ground briefing was completed, the team then took part in a practical winching exercise with the helicopter. The recent new additions to the Skerries team also took part in a familarisation flight along the coast.

Cliff rescue at Loughshinny – 20th July 2010

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At 20:40 this evening, the Coast Guard’s national rescue centre received several public reports of persons in difficulty on cliffs near Loughshinny harbour. The concerned members of the public had contacted the Coast Guard on 999 as the three male youths were on the cliffs shouting for help. Apparently the youths had climbed down a dangerous section of the cliff top and had become trapped on a small ledge.

With darkness approaching, the Coast Guard immediately scrambled its Sikorsky S61 rescue helicopter (Rescue 116)  from its base at Dublin Airport. The Skerries Coast Guard crew were tasked to the scene, along with local Gardai. As a precautionary measure, the Coast Guard also requested the launch of the Skerries lifeboat.

Upon arriving at the scene, the Coast Guard helicopter swiftly rescued the three youths, winching each one in turn to the safety of the cliff top. Once there, the youths were received by the Skerries Coast Guard team and Gardai. Fortunately none of the youths were injured and were escorted from the scene shortly afterwards.

The Coast Guard would remind members of the public to exercise extreme caution when on or near cliff tops. In particular, the Loughshinny cliffs have a history of cliff falling accidents in recent years, regrettably many of them fatal.

Remember – if you spot someone in trouble on or near the coast, dial 999 or 112 and ask for the Coast Guard.

Incident # 18 of 2010

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