The Air Zermatt Training Center – helicopter training for firefighters from all over Switzerland
As a former fire chief and member of the fire service in Canton Schwyz, Kari Pfyl (59) tackles emergencies caused by nature and weather, as well as people. With the goal of training as many specialists as possible in this area, he conducts the basic firefighting course and advanced training courses I & II on a freelance basis at Air Zermatt. Participants in the newly certified firefighting course at the Air Zermatt Training Center learn how to handle the helicopter in an emergency.
Together it means: practice, practice, practice.
Working on and with the helicopter has to be learned.
The alarm is raised, a fire has broken out, time is of the essence. Every minute counts, and it’s vital to proceed with caution, but act swiftly. A scenario that’s definitely familiar to Kari Pfyl. He devoted 30 years of his life to the Schwyz fire service, ultimately in the role of fire chief.
Teamwork is particularly important when it comes to an emergency. But firefighters don't just deal with house fires and traffic accidents – they sometimes also get called out to handle incidents in areas that are difficult to access. Special situations call for special measures – including the use of a helicopter. Not just in the mountains, but also in the lowlands. “In Zermatt, it’s pretty standard for Air Zermatt to come to the rescue in an emergency. This isn’t the case with us. The firefighters aren’t familiar with the helicopter as a piece of equipment, which means they’re also not familiar with how to handle it properly,” explains Kari Pfyl.
“We’ve had quite a few challenging callouts with the fire service in Schwyz, some of them in difficult terrain. We’ve used helicopters in various rescue operations, including once when a farmer was trapped under a tractor. This situation showed us we needed to improve the way we work together, so we can guarantee the best possible approach to rescue operations with our fire services.”
"Most firefighters are not familiar with the helicopter as a working tool."
Customized training
Air Zermatt was already offering the “Working with Helicopters” course at its Training Center ATC. “I did the course myself in 2004, and I was enthusiastic. So I contacted the Training Center and we ended up putting together a course that was tailored to our fire services and our equipment,” Kari explains.
“This was what ultimately led to me starting work as a course instructor at Air Zermatt just one year later.”
The two-day training course is now the first of its kind in Switzerland to be certified by Fire Service Coordination Switzerland (FKS). The courses are popular – and usually booked out in no time. As a result of the strong interest three different courses are now offered, with the certified Basic Course being followed by Advanced Courses I & II. Kari Pfyl runs six to eight courses a year, and has already trained more than 1,200 firefighters over more than 100 course days. The focus is always on individual operations by the fire services, with many of the participants working with a helicopter for the first time,
Forest fires currently pose a significant challenge, also in the lowlands. With firefighting work increasingly being carried out by helicopter, effective cooperation is key. Just recently, firefighters managed to extinguish several smoldering areas of fire using a new approach to locating them, and this aspect has now been integrated in Advanced Course II.
Firefighting has almost always been part of Kari’s life. Despite having stepped down as fire chief five years ago, he continues to provide support as a member of the command team. He also maintains the connection not only by running the ATC courses, but also in his day-to-day work: “I work for a vehicle construction company that manufactures fire fighting vehicles. Just recently we supplied the fire service in Zermatt with a new pickup truck.”
Kari Pfyl explains the practice on the helicopter to the participants.
In the courses, Pfyl shares his years of experience as a firefighter.
“A really valuable contribution”
Kari continues to enjoy running the courses, and especially enjoys hearing the enthusiastic feedback from the participants: “At the end of the day, these firefighters leave the base not only with new knowledge, but also with a smile on their faces. And most of them I see again the following year.”
He also always appreciates hearing accounts from participants’ everyday work, when they get the chance to apply what they learned. Even if this just means signaling for a helicopter landing, which can be life-saving in an emergency situation.
The courses for firefighters form just one of many training groups at the Air Zermatt Training Center, which trains over 1,000 participants in a range of different areas every year. For Kari Pfyl this work is a really valuable contribution, and he admires the way the ATC keeps on developing and adapting to changing demands.
Discover the current course programme
