Ripon alumnus to the rescue

Bill Quistorf ’80 puts his own safety on the line to help save others

Bill Quistorf, Ripon College Class of 1980, is the chief rescue pilot of the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office in Washington state.

Bill Quistorf ’80 of Everett, Washington, first entered a helicopter at the age of 18. To pay for his education, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and worked as a helicopter repairman. This experience would shape the rest of his life and eventually impact the lives of many others.

Today, Quistorf is the chief rescue pilot of the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office in Washington state. His team received the 2015 Golden Hour Award — a prestigious international recognition commending an organization for its lifesaving rescues. He also recently was granted an honorary membership in the Everett Mountain Rescue Organization.

The Snohomish County Helicopter Rescue Team responds to more than 80 calls per year in terrain ranging from urban areas to the most remote sections of the Cascade Mountains. They help in locating missing children, lost Alzheimer’s patients, overdue hikers and rafters, people trapped by flood waters, and injured climbers and skiers.

Quistorf meets with fellow rescue crew prior to a mission.

The team is made up primarily of volunteers who purchase most of their own equipment and often pay for their own specialized training. Quistorf began as a volunteer pilot for the Snohomish County Helicopter Rescue Team and, in 2000, was appointed the chief pilot, attending the Law Enforcement Academy to become a commissioned officer for the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.

At Ripon, Quistorf majored in art and participated in theatre, music and dance, and worked with College Days and Parallax. He was a member of ROTC, which he completed early because of his previous military experience. During his senior year, he was the detachment commander for Ripon’s National Guard unit.

After graduation, he served for 16 years in the U.S. Army as an active duty officer and helicopter pilot, instructor pilot and aviation unit commander.

“My military experience as a commander and flight instructor allowed me to come into the Sheriff’s Office Air Support Unit and develop and implement a training program from the ground up,” Quistorf says. “When I arrived, no formal training for flight standardization was in place. Being able to think creatively, seek input from others, gain consensus, put a plan in place and then carry out that plan are invaluable skills that anyone can gain from an education at Ripon.”

Quistorf has participated in numerous rescues. In March 2014, his team rescued seven people in Oso, Washington, from the United States’ largest and most deadly landslide. He briefed Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, FEMA administrator Craig Fugate, Washington senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, and Gov. Jay Inslee. That day, he also met then-President Barack Obama.

“I informed them about aviation response involving our regional partners and the importance of maintaining the federal surplus equipment program, which is how we acquired our county helicopters,” he says.

His team also rescued a rock climber holding onto the shear side of a mountain 5,000 feet in the air; and they have conducted a nighttime rescue of an injured climber, stranded on a 7,000-foot-mountain under turbulent wind conditions.

One such dramatic rescue can be viewed at ripon.edu/quistorfrescue.

In 2004, Quistorf helped establish and now chairs Northwest Regional Aviation, a statewide consortium of local, state and federal agencies and military aviation units. “We meet regularly and conduct joint training and air operations throughout the year,” he says. “This group was recognized by the Department of Homeland Security and presented the national Outstanding Regional Partnership Award in 2010.”

His favorite part of his job is working with highly trained, elite, mountain-climbing volunteers in Search & Rescue. “They donate a tremendous number of hours to train in the complex tasks involved in mountain rescue,” he says.

“The part of the mission I enjoy most is determining the best and safest way to extract someone who is injured or stranded on a mountain. Time is of the essence due to fuel restraints, so organizing the rescue takes all our concentration, experience and skills. We evaluate the scene, discuss the options and then agree on the rescue plan. There are some tense moments during the rescue; we are relieved when the subject is on board and we are headed back.”

Quistorf credits his time at Ripon with the tremendous opportunities that have come his way. “I grew up in a blue-collar town and was the first in my family to obtain a degree,” he says. “That degree, coupled with my ROTC training, allowed me to enter a career in aviation and to live in many different parts of the world. I had many exciting jobs in aviation, and I have been able to meet world leaders and fascinating people through those jobs.

“Many professors at Ripon took a personal interest in students’ progress. That personal attention and the small class sizes make Ripon stand out from so many other colleges. I feel fortunate to have experienced life at Ripon and thankful for the opportunities that came forth after graduation because of that experience.”

Quistorf with former President Barack Obama