BANGOR — David Burr maintains that his position as pilot for LifeFlight of Maine is just a job. His actions and commitment, however, exhibit otherwise. Burr not only carries the responsibility of keeping himself and his crew safe in a helicopter, he is part of a team committed to saving lives of the critically ill and injured. 

LifeFlight of Maine emergency services are called upon more and more these days. LifeFlight is a noun and verb now across the state. The public is aware of Lifeflight the organization — a set of helicopters and a team of people in uniform who appear upon scene, take care of the patient, and disappear again — and it is common to say that someone has been “LifeFlighted.”

But who are the people behind LifeFlight?

They are neighbors. They are colleagues. They are the people ahead of us in the check-out line at the local grocery store, or at the basketball game.

Working with LifeFlight is never predictable. Shifts are long, work is sporadic, emotions fluctuate, and the stakes are high; yet this is the nature of emergency medical care.

Burr is a former military pilot. Navy, to be exact. He’s learned to compartmentalize.  He knows when to focus, and he knows the rule book. 

On a recent cold winter morning, he was asked what the minimum air temperature is for grounding a LifeFlight helicopter. 

The answer was obvious to Burr — there is no minimum temperature.  But, trying to recollect where in the policy he’d seen that statement needled him for hours.

His instructions to new ride-alongs are complete and exact: There are specific methods of stepping in and out of a chopper, and equipment not to bump against.

On this particular day, Burr is working with flight nurse Brent Watson and medic Peter Garrett. They are at the home base in Bangor, at the airport.

Watson is the new director of emergency services for Penobscot Valley Hospital in Lincoln. He oversees about 14 nurses, as well as running the emergency department.  His prior experiences include EMT intermediate, nurse, and lab technician.  He is trained as a cardiac nurse, worked in the emergency room for eight years, intensive care unit for approximately three years, and has been with LifeFlight for seven years.

Garrett has been with Capital Ambulance in Bangor since 2004.  He has also worked in Austin, Texas, and Palm Springs, California.

This particular morning is uneventful, until 10 a.m. Then, a call is dispatched to the LifeFlight quarters. A patient needs a transport from North Haven to the mainland.

Burr, Garrett and Watson quickly ease into the craft, and we rise into the sky toward Penobscot Bay. The day is calm, inside the craft as well as outside.  The air is clear but frigid, prompting vapors to rise from the warmer waters of Penobscot Bay.  The conversation, through the headsets attached to our helmets, is focused on the science of water vapors. Talk is occasionally interrupted by the voices on the dispatch scanner.  We fly over Prospect Bridge, and other Midcoast Maine landmarks. 

Burr is a pilot, through and through.  He has already meticulously gone through his morning checklist, observing and maintaining the nuts and bolts of the craft.  He talks engines, gauges, and instrument flight rules with a gleam in his eye. Flying is in his blood.

Burr’s family moved to Matinicus when he was a child.  

At age 7, the Coast Guard: “either had built, just built, or was in the process of building the heli pad out there,” he said. “I didn’t know how to spell helicopter, but I saw it and thought it was really cool.” 

A couple who lived on Matinicus helped propel Burr’s flying passion by giving him flights between the island and mainland.

From there, Burr attained a pilot’s license while attending Maine Maritime Academy, Class of 1984. At that time, only about five graduates out of 100 found flying jobs, so Lt. Commander Burr spent 12 years flying for the Navy. 

He started out at Virginia Beach, spent 10 months training in San Diego, completed two consecutive tours in Pensacola, Fla., and did a headshot in the Gulf during Desert Storm. 

Leaving the Navy in 1996, Burr and his wife, Laura, settled in Pensacola, which was a little bigger than Bangor, according to Burr, who has little use for cities. 

“If your neighbor gets annoyed at your donkey’s braying, then it’s not OK to be there,” he said.

A visit back to Maine became a permanent move. The first day of his visit, he was asked to join a fishing party. 

“I don’t think someone from away could have been paid a higher honor,” he said.

 The islanders, he said, “are the greatest bunch of people I’ve ever met.”

Now, Burr, his wife, his 18-year-old daughter, and three dogs, a cat, a horse, and a donkey live in Appleton. Burr’s 25-year-old daughter lives in Boston. ”Laura runs the show. ‘I couldn't do this if not for her — she makes it possible,” Burr said.

In the first two years after returning to Maine, Burr was the pilot for transports of at least 10 people he knew. From then on, there always seems to be someone he either knows, or thinks he should know, everywhere he goes. It is Maine, and connections are tight.

But when the call comes in that someone on Matinicus requires LifeFlight, Burr pauses for a moment. Yes, it’s possible he doesn’t know the patient, but the odds are high that he does.

He climbs into the pilot's seat, lifts the helicopter into the sky, and goes to render aid. It is his job.

Related LifeFlight article:

www.penbaypilot.com/article/donating-33-million-linda-bean-employees-and-north-haven-help-make-lifeflight-s-third