A helicopter rescue basket is a basket suspended below a helicopter

Helicopter

A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...

 in order to rescue people from a fire or other disaster site.

Uses

There are two main types of helicopter baskets. The smaller, more common type is used by rescuers to lift a person up from ground or water into the helicopter.

The second type is a new invention. This is a basket able to fit five people or more. It allows a large group of people to be rescued from a fire or other emergency site, without needing to load them into the helicopter itself. it enables the helicopter to load a large group without landing. The helicopter hovers over the site and rests the basket on the ground or other surface. Evacuees board, then are transported to a safe area.
This type of basket was tested by the Air National Guard

Air National Guard

The Air National Guard , often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the fifty U.S. states, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia of the United States. Established under Title 10 and...

 in 2006, and were found to be quite functional. Guard personnel tested out a basket which could fit up to 15 people, at the Air National Guard-Air Force Reserve Command Test Center at Tucson, Ariz. The basket which was tested is known as the Heli-Basket®, is 4-and-a-half foot by 8-and-a-half feet, and hangs on a 125-foot cable below an HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter. it was invented by John Tollenaere, of the company Precision Lift, Inc.