Tempest Aviation Group donates to HEROS' cause

The supplier of helicopter parts and services presented Helicopter Emergency Response Operations Society with a cheque for $10,000 on Tuesday.

Full-time emergency response medical helicopters and crews are based in Vancouver, Kelowna, Kamloops and Prince Rupert but in this region the service is provided by private companies on an as-needed basis. Critics say that's not good enough when time is of the essence.

"We know this [helicopter] business and it's all about response time, and there are so many holes here," said Tempest co-owner Laurie Saindon. "When you get halfway between Prince George and Vanderhoof you're 45 or 50 minutes away from the city in a ground ambulance, but in a helicopter you get there in half the time.

"People don't give it much thought until it happens to someone who's close to them, until it's their father, mother or daughter."