Doctor Down, Three Dog Down’s sister company that manufactures down wraps for rescue missions, began with an inquiry in 1992 from St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula.

The hospital’s Life Flight crew members weren’t happy with the standard wool blanket system used for rescue patients and wondered if they could get some kind of a lightweight down wrap.

“They basically said make us a down bag. They were our research and development,” Three Dog Down owner Bob Ricketts said.

Getting a patent for the Doctor Down Rescue Wrap is “the one smart thing I did,” Ricketts said.

The Rescue Wrap and other Doctor Down products are used by rescue teams around the world, he said, noting that the ALERT medical helicopter in the Flathead Valley was one of the company’s first customers.

A patented Velcro system makes the Rescue Wrap adjustable and convenient during the rescue process. The latest product is a  “supersized” model to accommodate patients up to 400 pounds.

The bags feature removable natural or synthetic down cores that can be doubled or tripled for any kind of weather, from 80 degrees to minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit, Ricketts said. A fluid-proof shell and disposable liners create a contained environment for each patient.

The company ramped up in 2005 to 2006 when it got military orders for some 4,000 bags that went to Iraq and Afghanistan. Ricketts contracted out some of the assembly work during that busy time to organizations throughout Western Montana that provide jobs for developmentally disabled workers.

Doctor Down has a current customer base of about 500 agencies that use the various wraps. In addition to the Rescue Wrap, the company supplies The H.O.S.S. (hypothermic offshore survival system), the Body Burrito transport blanket, Slap Wrap disposable liners and accessories such as insulated hoods, intravenous warm-wrap kits and heat/cold packs.

For more information go online to www.doctordown.com.