Alvin (45) works as a rescuer: – Small mistakes can have enormous consequences

Imagine you are in a helicopter flying over the ocean. It is windy. The rain whips against the window panes. The darkness of the night blocks the view. The helicopter struggles a bit to stay stable in the wind and storm.

You must then jump out of the helicopter and be hoisted down a cable to the surface of the water. Your task is to rescue people from a sinking boat in high waves. People who put their lives in your hands.

Would you dare to do this?

Alvin Fyhn (45) dares. That’s his job. Fyhn is one of the few in Norway who can – rightly – call himself a rescuer. The workplace is CHC Helicopter Service in Tromsø.

You may have seen him in the TV 2 documentary series Saved, which shows how the rescue helicopter service works in practice. Among other things, he participated in the particularly demanding Viking Sky evacuation.

– I like helping others. I have always been a caregiver, Fyhn answers when asked why he has chosen this dangerous and challenging profession.

– I am also attracted to activities that combine body and mind, i.e. physical challenges where you have to be very mentally present.

The first mission was an aha experience

Fyhn has worked as a rescuer since 2011. He does not have figures on how many rescue missions he has carried out. He doesn’t even try to guess.

But he remembers the very first rescue mission well.

– If I had been experienced, it would have been very easy, says Fyhn initially.

– I had to lift a sick, young man from a boat. Until then I had only lifted with a doll, so when there was a human lying in front of me – who was awake and watching me – it became a very different situation. The man told me he worked on a boat because his fear of flying prevented him from working on an oil platform. My job then was to calm him down, but I was probably just as nervous. My mouth was a little dry and I started to sweat a little.

The successful rescue operation in 2011 gave Fyhn an aha experience that changed the perception of the profession he had chosen.

– It became very clear to me that this job is about much more than the technical skills. Very small mistakes can have huge consequences for life and health, but at the same time it’s about being present. To care. Create safe frameworks. You meet people who are often in the worst situation of their lives. People in need. They pray to what they believe in to be saved – they pray for a miracle – and here we come. Therefore, it requires a great deal of us to familiarize ourselves with situations, to understand and to fulfill those expectations. Making them relax and feel safe can improve their medical situation.

The article continues after the fact box.

“Family number two”

Fyhn is modest and humble. He is not the type to push forward with his elbows to stand in the first row when the applause comes – quite the opposite. He emphasizes several times that rescue operations are about cooperation.

He is part of a permanent team consisting of six people: Two helicopter pilots, an elevator operator, a system operator, an anesthetist, and a rescuer. “Family number two” he calls it. A family that, in life and death – literally – must work together extremely well and precisely when training or on a rescue mission.

– We are all dependent on each other. And this dependence – that we have to rely on each other – becomes very evident in operations.

The number of assignments varies greatly. Fyhn is always unaware of what awaits him at work.

– You never know what a day or a night or a week on duty will bring. You can go straight from an avalanche in the mountains to a burning boat at sea. It is very varied and unpredictable. A couple of shifts ago, we had six assignments during the first 24 hours. The first assignment came just a few minutes after we had gone on duty. The alarm went off while we were talking to the departing crew. Then you have to adjust and move out. Other times, a whole week can go by without a single assignment.

– Everyone must come home

The work team in Tromsø is “family number two”. Fyhn’s first family consists of his wife and two children at Sotra outside Bergen. What does the family think about the career choice?

– I think the wife sleeps well while I’m at work, he says.

– My wife understands that there is potential for great risk, but she also knows that we are very conscious of our safety. That is what we are working on all the time. The aim of each shift is for everyone to return home. It is very much established in the entire rescue service in Norway, both professional and voluntary, that we should not die or injure ourselves in the attempt to save someone. Everything we do is based on a risk assessment and that there is an acceptable level of risk. But after my wife saw Reddet, she said to me: “I’m glad I don’t know what you do at work until afterwards.”

Alvin Fyhn’s shift lasts for one week at a time. Then he is away from the family.

– The family thinks it’s a shame that I’m away a lot, but everyone thinks it’s exciting. I have taken the eldest boy – who is now six years old – to work. He has been involved in flying a helicopter and he has been hoisted. Before we had children, my wife was with me several times at work. She almost became our mascot for a period, he says, laughing.

Never heard of the profession

Alvin Fyhn loves speed and excitement. He has parachuted a lot, and often climbs mountains. Growing up, he worked as a volunteer for Norwegian People’s Aid. He later went to military school – in addition, he has obtained a civilian bachelor’s degree.

Fyhn then worked in the Armed Forces for 12 years. There he became familiar with the profession as a rescuer – a profession that caught his interest immediately.

– When I completed my education in my 20s, I did not know that there was a profession called lifeguard. I thought it seemed very exciting.

The idea of ​​becoming a rescuer was in the back of my mind. After a conversation with a friend – whose goal was to become a doctor in the ambulance service – Fyhn took action.

– He inspired me a lot. He knew the rescue service well, and thought I was a very good fit for it. He said that I was born to be a rescuer, and that I had to stop this defense nonsense, says Fyhn with a laugh, before quickly adding:

– It was his word!

His friend’s words ignited a spark in him. Fyhn read everything he could come across about the rescue service and the lifeguard profession. He also contacted rescuers to find out what the working days are like.

– And then I actually jumped off a career path in the Armed Forces, and started from “scratch”. I started with a vocational certificate as an ambulance worker at the age of about 30.

How do you become a rescuer?

It was no coincidence that he took a certificate as an ambulance worker. It is one of the requirements you must meet to work as a lifeguard.

– There is no lifeguard training or school, says Fyhn.

– You need a combination of many things. You must be a nurse or an ambulance specialist. You must also have pre-hospital experience, meaning that you have worked in emergency medicine. And that is really the only formal requirement you must have at the bottom. There has also been an education called bachelor in paramedicine. It is a very popular study and it is difficult to enter.

As you have probably understood, working as a rescuer is physically and mentally demanding. A number of requirements are therefore placed on your mental and physical fitness.

– You don’t have to be Superman, but you have to satisfy a certain physical level. And in the rescue service, we are concerned that you are comfortable and capable in water. It is often at sea that we can get the most demanding assignments. When you have to pick up people in 10-15 meter high waves, and the waves crash over you. In addition, you may have to fight with people in the water who are panicking.

Fyhn encourages anyone who wants to follow his career path to read the national standard for lifeguards.

– It describes very well what is expected, what you will be tested on, and what are absolute requirements and what are desirable requirements.

Will work until retirement age

Fyhn has met many people and fates in the years he has worked as a rescuer. It happens that his team is contacted by people who want to show their gratitude after being rescued.

– We get some Christmas cards sent to the base, and we get flowers, sweets and cakes at regular intervals. It may also happen that they have some questions, so we always take the time to answer them and hear how they experienced the situation.

The retirement age for a lifeguard is 57 years. Fyhn is 45, and the goal is to hold out for another 12 years.

– Not everyone makes it that long in this profession. It is very physically demanding. You must withstand a bit of a beating and have a good physique. But I hope to keep in shape and avoid injuries, so that I can work until retirement age, says Alvin Fyhn.

The documentary series Saved are you watching TV 2 Play.