STARS air ambulance, Southcentre Mall team up to mark rescue service’s 40th anniversary

STARS air ambulance is getting into the Halloween spirit while also sharing a message on delivering critical care.

A UFO that “crash-landed” into the centre court of Southcentre Mall is part of a team-up called “Heroes Beyond Earth” between the mall and STARS to mark the rescue service’s 40th anniversary.

STARS has made more than 63,000 trips over those 40 years, and it’s not just for collisions—one pilot at the exhibit says he recently helped a hiker who was injured about 45 minutes south of Calgary.

“He was into our helicopter within, I want to say, about 15 minutes and arrived at the Foothills (Medical Centre) about 45 minutes later,” said Chris Filiatreault.

“So, from the time that person injured themselves to when they arrived at the Foothills was a fraction of the time it would have taken by ground ambulance, for example.”

STARS representatives will be at the exhibit on weekends between Oct. 14 and 31 and will be accepting donations and sharing more about the not-for-profit’s history.