In cities, looking up, you may see a bright orange helicopter flying overhead, but in areas like Cobourg it’s not uncommon to see the helicopter at Northumberland Hills Hospital.
Everyone knows when they see the helicopter someone is in need of urgent care.
On Sunday, January 18, 2026 Ornge or as it’s commonly known as the air ambulance flew to Northumberland Hills Hospital from Toronto which took approximately 33-minutes, and then with the patient loaded, approximately 10-minutes to the Peterborough Regional Health Centre.
Looking up the meaning of Ornge, Ontario’s air ambulance and its critical care transport service, the name “Ornge” actually doesn’t stand for anything. But was a name chosen to reflect the bright orange colour of the aircraft with the “a” removed for trademark and branding awareness.
It was originally called Ontario Air Ambulance Service, but switched to Ornge in 2006.
Ornge operates the largest air ambulance and critical care land fleet in Canada, serving all of Ontario.
The mission of Ornge is, “we overcome time and distance when it matters most.”
It’s not uncommon to see a Ornge helicopter landing at the hospital or even at the scene of a collision, but there are many other services they provide including:
· Emergent and urgent interfacility transport
· Emergent scene response
· Repatriation of interfacility patients
· Non-urgent transport based on geographic and population needs
· Support for healthcare in remote communities through new and innovative approaches
· Provincial Transfer Authorization Centre (PTAC) authorization in support of public health objectives
· Transportation related to organ transplant
Ornge owns a fleet of aircraft and land ambulances operating out of 14 bases across Ontario.
Among the fleet include:
· 8 Pilatus Next Generation PC-12 airplanes,
· 12 Leonardo AW-139 helicopters, and
· 13 Crestline Commander land ambulances.
The helicopters used are Leonardo AW139 which are also used by the Los Angeles Fire Department, Maryland State Police, New Jersey Police and Vancouver Island Helicopters.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
