Niverville Fire Chief Keith Bueckert is reminding residents to give emergency services ample space while they are working.

Bueckert says STARS Air Ambulance was called to the community Thursday evening to assist with a medical emergency.

"We had to set up just on the edge of one of our residential communities to land the helicopter and, of course, it draws a crowd. Unfortunately, the pilots had to abort because a bunch of people ran a little too close to the incident and we were in the process of landing it and didn't see the people coming up from one of the sides. The helicopter had to abort until we could get everyone out of the way."

It is always a good idea to give emergency services space, but Bueckert says it is particularly important when STARS is landing.

"That helicopter, the rotor-wash can pick stuff up that you don't even know is in tall grass. It can throw stuff and it becomes a projectile and we just don't want anybody getting hurt."

In addition, he notes an aborted landing adds to response time and can delay a patient’s access to life-saving care.

The Niverville Fire Department put out a statement on their Facebook page following the incident, asking residents to be mindful in the future.

"It is just a friendly reminder for people to be considerate."