Just for the sake of discussion, let's say one of Missoula's two hospitals suffers a major fire.

This fire moves quickly, and it's paramount to get people out of the building.

The elevators are out of the question, and many of the patients can't walk out on their own. How do you get them down from the upper floors?

The answer? The ParaSlyde.

"What we're doing today is planning for an emergency we hope to never have," said Leanne Vreeland, who works in safety and emergency management at St. Patrick Hospital. "But it's better to have the equipment and know how to use it than be caught by a problem you're not ready for."

St. Pat's hosted a training session Monday, drawing folks from Community Medical Center, which also uses the ParaSlyde, as well as firefighters, ambulance personnel and law enforcement.

"If we were to have something happen here or at Community, we'd have all these people involved," said Vreeland.

Said Community's Barbara Zuelzke, "We're really pleased to be working in collaboration with all the other groups on this, and it's going to be far better than trying to haul people out on mattresses or blankets."

Monday's training session included hands-on guidance from Zane Watts, who works for Stryker, the company that sells the ParaSlyde, which the hospitals bought a few months ago with grant money.

The ParaSlyde is essentially a sled made of 12-millimeter corrugated polypropylene, with webbing straps that secure the patient inside.

Bright orange webbing straps give rescuers a place to hold the sled as it's maneuvered through stairwells. Two to four people handle the sled, although one person can use a roped belay system to bring patients down unassisted.

On Monday, a team of four slender women moved a 200-plus pound patient down the stairs with little problem, and the sled is strong enough to hold 500 pounds.

The hospitals have positioned the sleds around their facilities and plan to train all staff in handling them.

"Should we need these things, it's going to be a situation where it's all hands on deck," Vreeland said. "We'll have everybody involved, from nurses to maintenance people."

Reporter Michael Moore can be reached at 523-5252 or at mmoore@missoulian.com.