Direct link to video from Just Helicopters on YouTube
| Flagler County, Florida courtesy of Google Maps |
I was reading the July/August 2025 issue of Aerial Fire - The Aerial Firefighting Magazine earlier this week, the cover story focuses on Flagler County Florida’s new helicopter, the Airbus H125
For 22 years Flagler County Florida had an AS350B3 multi-mission helicopter. This helicopter was recently replaced with an Airbus H125. The H125 keeps the FireFlight name. According to Aerial Fire
The Airbus AS350 Écureuil series, alongside its modern successor, the H125, has become a cornerstone of aerial firefighting efforts across North America. As climate volatility intensifies, the frequency and severity of wildfires, particularly across the western United States and parts of Canada, are increasing. Consequently, the demand for highly versatile, reliable, and high-performance rotorcraft has never been greater. Among the platforms meeting this demand, the H125 has emerged as an undisputed leader, recognized globally for its exceptional capabilities in demanding mission profiles.
While FireFlight is used for aerial firefighting and prescribed burns, there are other uses for FireFlight. This includes but is not necessarily limited to search and rescue, taking accident victims to trauma centers, public safety flights, storm reconnaissance, and law enforcement.
Among the features of the H125 according to the Aerial Fire article:
- precision water and foam drops with a 210 gallon bucket
- in flight foam injection into the bucket
- crash resistant fuel systems improves pilot and crew survival
- FM radios to facilitate communication with ground crews
- alert sirens for discharge safety
- modern avionics
- interchangeable equipment for multi-mission uses.
After reading the article, I was very impressed with Flagler County’s new H125 FireFlight helicopter. They are one of only two Florida Counties with their own helicopter, the other county being Miami-Dade. I don’t quite know how long the link to this article will be accessible, happens sometimes. If possible, I hope that you take the time to read this wonderful article. I commend Flagler County and the pilots, crews, and maintenance team for using FireFlight to keep their residents and business owners safe.
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