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New helipad in Autryville expected to help during emergencies

By Keyuri Parab, posted Sep 9, 2021 on BizFayetteville.com

The new helipad in Autryville was made possible by the help of donations from individual sponsors and companies. Photo used with permission from Terry Spell Mechanical Service Inc. 

The Autryville Area Fire Department Emergency Helipad will be up and running in the next couple weeks. 

The need for the helipad was identified by the Autryville Fire Chief Andrew Hawkins due to past floods and tornadoes. 

“Whenever there's a serious accident or so there is always a concern on where to land the helicopter and evacuate injured people, so it's much simpler for the medical helicopters to come in at night and in bad weather when there’s a helipad with signs and warning, so they can avoid hazards like trees and powerlines,” said Terry Spell, owner of Terry Spell Mechanical Service Inc. 

Spells said the fire chief reached out to him with the need for the helipad which led to him brokering a deal between the fire department and Barnhill Contracting, who at the time was looking for a community project to help with. 

The emergency helipad cost over $250,000. No federal, state funds or tax dollars were used for the project. The helipad funds were donations from the sponsors and different companies. 

Spells also donated his services and became the fundraising chair and general contractor for the project. 

“They had a little bit of land but not quite enough land,” he said. “Betty and Larry Sutton owned additional land adjacent to the fire department, and I brokered a long-term lease with the Suttons in memory of their late son, Barry Sutton, to construct this helipad.”

The mission for the project is to support Cape Fear Valley Health and their helicopters by making the helipad available to them and other medical helicopters, as well as for local law enforcement, government and their entities to use. 

The helipad is 50 by 50 feet in dimension and in compliance with the Federal Aviation Administration. It’s located directly beside the Autryville Fire Department and owned by them.

“We are waiting for our final inspection but we don’t anticipate any issues with that,” he said. 

Inspection is scheduled within the next 30 days and the emergency helipad is set to open immediately after, followed by the ribbon cutting ceremony after the pandemic is under control.

“It is a big step for the community because we will make it available for all the surrounding areas like Beaver Dam, Roseboro, Clinton and more,” Spell said. “One problem that was identified earlier on was Cape Fear Valley told us during the floods and hurricanes in the past five years, they were having a tough time getting patients out of the Beaver Dam-Autryville-Clinton area because of the water.”

Construction for the helipad took about 12 months, and is complete as of Thursday, Sept. 9. 

“We are anticipating that during storms, this helipad will be one additional source for evacuating injured and sick people,” Spell mentioned. 
 

List of Sponsors for the Autryville Area Fire Department Emergency Helipad : 

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