Aerial Firefighting Training in New South Wales Australia

Direct link to August 24th video from Coulson Aviation on YouTube

I know that Coulson Aviation has a significant presence in Australia including Tanker B10, a 737 large air tanker, of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service. I enjoyed this video because it gave me a peek into what flight crew training is like in Australia. While there are likely some differences in how flight crew training (pilots and other crews) in Australia and flight crew training in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere the goal is the same. That the flight crews have adequate training in the necessary procedures while flying fires and that they do so as safe as possible.

New South Wales Rural Fire Service: New CH47 Added to Aviation Fleet

 As the bush fire season in New South Wales (NSW) Australia is underway, I wanted to find a little more information about their fleet of firefighting aircraft including the new addition of a CH47 Chinook Helicopter to their fleet. I knew that I had read that the NSW Rural Fire Service had acquired a CH47 Chinook in the last 3 or 4 months, and a little digging in my email revealed that Mike Archer had shared an article in his August 7th Wildfire News of the Day newsletter about this acquisition, he referenced this August 7th  article in Helicopter Investor discussing this purchase. 

Rob Rogers, commissioner, RFS said: “The Chinook carries a similar load to a 737 large air tanker but can fill up and turn around faster, protecting people and homes from fires." ...

The CH-47 is powered by two Lycoming T55 turboshaft engines, mounted on each side of the helicopter’s rear pylon and connected to the rotors by drive shafts. The aircraft’s counter-rotating rotors eliminate the need for an antitorque vertical rotor. This enables all the power to be used for lift and thrust. The ability to adjust lift in either rotor makes it less sensitive to changes in the centre of gravity, important for the cargo lifting and dropping, such as when deployed on firefighting missions.

The CH47 arrived in NSW in late July or early August. At present it can carry up to 10,000 liters (or 2,641 gallons) in a bambi bucket. During the (Australian) winter of 2024 an internal tank capable of carrying 11,000 liters (or 2,905 gallons). 

Direct link to YouTube video from Sky News Australia

I thought that you might be interested in reading a July 2023 article in the Aerial Fire Magazine on the NSW Rural Fire Service's aerial firefighting fleet that may be found here. I was glad to read this article because they referred to other aircraft in the NSW fleet: six Bell 412 helicopters, a 737 Fireliner "Marie Bashier", two Cessna Citations for fire mapping and monitoring, and a third fixed wing aircraft. In addition I learned more about the NSW Rural Fire Service's aviation resources and how they are used in aerial firefighting. Finally, I just saw an interesting article on Aerial Fire (dated October 13th) reporting that Australia's largest firefighting helicopter, which I think is the CH47, was used to retrieve a submerged vehicle from a body of water.

Update on aerial operations in Australia following T-139 crash

I wrote on February 6th about the crash of Coulson's T-139 while flying a fire in the Fitzgerald River National Park in Western Australia on February 6th. I understand that T-139 had done a split-load, dropping half their load in two passes over the fire. Shortly after dropping the second load, T-139 crashed (see this February 7th article from WAToday).  It is a miracle that both pilots survived and are now out of the hospital. By now, I suspect that conditions are safe enough at the crash site for the Australian Transport Safety Bureau begins their investigation into the crash (go here to read their first report with basic information. 

Coulson had suspended all operations on February 7th for a welfare rest to give crews to rest and reflect. According to their news release, Coulson resumed aerial operations on February 8th. 

The crash of T-139 left Western Australia with only one large airtanker. The New South Wales Rural Fire Service has three large air tankers and loaned one to Western Australia to support their bush fire operations, Conair T-166, an Avro RJ85. T-166 arrived on February 8th.  If you have difficulty seeing the Facebook post from the Department of Fire and Emergency Services WA that I embedded below, here is a direct link to the post which I believe should be freely available to those who don't have a Facebook account.

This just in: Coulson 737 Fireliner Tanker 139 in Accident Pilots OK

 I went to Coulson Aviation's Twitter account looking for some photos of their operations in Australia when I came upon this tweet reporting on an accident involving one of their 737 Fireliners, T-139 in western Australia. I am very happy that both pilots are ok.

One of our 737 FireLiners, Tanker 139, operating in Western Australia was involved in an accident while tasked to a fire Monday, 6 February 2023. Both pilots walked away from the crash. More here: https://t.co/PsObuOuDOr

— Coulson Aviation (@CoulsonAviation) February 6, 2023

Here is a statement from Wayne Coulson, he says in part

We are very grateful the two team members on Tanker 139 are safe.

We are offering all the support we can to our local and international crews. We’re also grateful for the support being provided by our firefighting and aviation industry colleagues in Western Australia.

According to media reports on WA Today and ABC Net AU T-139 crashed in the Fitzgerald River National Park 460 kilometers or 285 miles southeast of Perth Australia. See either media report for a map. 

My prayers go out to the two pilots and their families, Coulson Aviation, and local officials in the area of the crash site. I am very happy to be able to report on a tanker crash where both pilots survived.

Added at 4 PM EST on February 6, 2023: Fire Aviation has done their usual good job reporting on this crash in a February 6th post. In this article, Fire Aviation also reports that after Coulson finished converting the 737 to configuration as a Fireliner Tanker, the T-139 Fireliner flew its first fire in July 2022 in the U.S. and arrived in Australia in December 2022. Their article is worth a read.

Erickson Aircrane (2022)

After I devoted this blog to aerial wildland firefighting and related issues in early 2009 it did not take me long to learn about the Erickson Aircrane. Over thirteen years later, I still enjoy watching videos of the Aircrane working wildfires or performing other heavy lift activities. Erickson has a nice webpage chock full of information. If you go their page on their aviation fleet you will see a link for specifications on the S-64E with a link (pdf file) for technical and performance information for the S-64E. Here is an overview of the specifications for the S-64E:

• power plant: 2 pratt and whitney JFTD12A-4A 
• 2 to 3 crew
• fuselage length 70 ft (21.3 meters)
• Maximum external cargo: 20,000 lbs (9,072 kg)
• max speed: 115 kts.
• max range: 217 NM

Mission specific equipment includes but is not limited to:

• hoists
• night vision goggles
• fire tank
• foam cannon
• sea snorkle
• pond snorkle

According to Erickson's aerial firefighting webpage the Aircrane has been used for aerial firefighting by these U.S. agencies and international agencies:

• SDGE (San Diego Gas and Electric)
• Los Angeles City Fire (California)
• U.S. Forest Service
• Oregon Department of Forestry
• California Deptartment of Forestry and Fire Protection
• Hellenic Fire Service (Greece)
• The National Aerial Firefighting Center (Australia)
• Forestal Arauco S.A. (Chile)

Erickson's aerial firefighting webpage has some short case study write-ups of some past seasons around the world along with a nice photo gallery.

Here a couple of videos I found to share with you. The first video shows an Aircrane working a wildfire in Greece.

Direct link to video from gvlacom on YouTube

The last video is from Australia.

Direct link to video from Ian Fuller on Youtube

About the Erickson Aero Tanker MD-87

It is way past time for me to write more about the current fleet of airtankers that have been under contract (exclusive use and call when needed) in the United States.

For no particular reason other then coming across a video of one of Erickson Aero Tanker's MD-87's arriving in western Australia to fight bush fires, I am starting with the Erickson Aero Tanker's MD-87.

Erickson Aero Tanker, wholly owned by Aero Air LLC, currently has five MD-87 air tankers. In addition, they have two more MD-87 that are ready to convert to tanker configuration. The MD-87, part of the MD-80 series, started out as an airliner manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The MD-80 series is an updated version of the DC-9. See this wikipedia article for more information on the MD-80 series and this airliner dot net article on the MD-87.

Specifications

• retardant capacity: 3,000 gallons
• cruise speed: 450 knots
• drop speed: 135 to 140 knots
• two retardant loading ports
• 900 mile loaded strike range
• See Erickson Aero Tanker FAQ. for more information as well as the home page of Erickson Aero Tanker 

According to Bill Gabbert's January 16th Fire Aviation article on U.S.tankers deployed to Australia to help with their current bush fire season, two of Erickson's MD-87's (T-102 and T-103) are be based at Perth in Western Australia. 

The first video is of T-102 dropping on a fire, I am not sure of the location. The second video is from 9NewsPerth reporting on the arrival of T-102. Note that 3,000 gallons is equivalent to about 11,350 litres

Direct link to video

Direct link to video from 9NewsPerth

Australia 2019-20 bushfire season: November 12th

I have noted that areas of Australia, especially New South Wales have seen extreme fire danger recently with hot and dry summer weather. Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today has been reporting on the bush fires in New South Wales (NSW) recently, see his November 8th article on homes destroyed in NSW Bush Fires, his November 10th article on extreme bush fire weather expected on November 11th in NSW and his article earlier today (November 13th) on tanker and helicopter contracts in Australia.

Here are two video news reports on the recent bush fire activity in Australia.


direct link to November 11th video on youtube


direct link to November 12th video on youtube

2018 Wildfire Season: Australia (March 15, 2018)

Here is some incredible wildfire footage shot in Bega Australia (between Sydney and the Victoria border) on one of the hottest day ever recorded. Temperatures were 38.4˚ C or  101.2˚ F. Winds were gusting at 87 km/h or 54 mph.


Direct link to video

Western Australia Bushfire - ground crews initial attack (Dec 2016)

On this holiday for some in the United States, enjoy this video published in December 2016. As you know it is summer in Australia, the height of their bushfire season. The video was recorded by Junky DIY Guy in Western Australia of a bush fire. You will see how quickly the firefighters put out the fire.


Direct link to video by Junky DIY Guy on Youtube

More on bushfires in New South Wales Au - Feb 11-12

I was writing the other day about the catastrophic bushfires that burned in New South Wales, Australia this past weekend. First, I want to share a youtube video of a news report on February 12, 2017.


Direct link to video

Here is an updated assessment from the New South Wales Rural Fire Service, as of this update (dated 15 February 2017) 41 homes have been destroyed.



And a map (dated 15 February 2017) showing the location of 55 bush and grass fires, with 13 not being controlled at the time of the posting. All were at the advice level.



Bush fires fall into three categories according to the New South Wales Rural Fire Service

• Advice (blue icons on map): A fire has started. There is no immediate danger. Stay up to date in cast the situation changes.
• Watch and Act (mapped with yellow icons): There is a heightened level of threat. Conditions are changing and you need to start taking action now to protect you and your family.
• Emergency Warning (mapped with red icons): An Emergency Warning is the highest level of Bush Fire Alert. You may be in danger and need to take action immediately. Any delay now puts your life at risk.

Catastrophic bushfire conditions in New South Wales Australia

I got wind of an extreme and catastrophic bushfire situation in New South Wales, Australia from a friend of mine. It is high summer in New South Wales and I understand that it has been very hot. I spent a little time to check things out for you and this is what I learned.

According to a media release (dated February 12, 2017) from the New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS):

NSW has experienced its most dangerous day of bush fire conditions ever. 

Catastrophic fire danger conditions have been recorded on Sunday 12 February 2017 in a number of locations across the Hunter, Central Ranges and Upper Central West Plains.

Late on February 13th (remember they are a day ahead of us here in America) the NSW RFS issued a media release with an intitial damage assessment of a few bush fires that resulted in property damage. That is according to this initial assessment, 30 homes were destroyed and five were damaged. For more see this February 13th media release from NSW RFS.

Skynews Australia reported late in the evening on February 13th that:

More than 2500 firefighters fought more than 200 bush and grass fires over the weekend with areas in the central west the worst hit. 

More than 70 fires were still burning on Monday afternoon including 26 uncontained blazes.

The New South Wales Rural Fire Service has an excellent website with updated bush fire information that may be found here as well as pages on facebook and twitter.

Additional information from media outlets:
ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) updated February 14th with video
BBC News - Australia (February 12th)
The Guardian - Australia (February 12th)

Scenes from bush fire season in Australia (2017)

Earlier this week I wrote about aerial attack on some bush fires that burned last week in New South Wales, Australia. Today I continue along the same lines by embedding some videos from the 2017 bush fire season in Australia. To all my friends in Australia, stay safe.

The first three I found courtesy of my friends from the B10 NJ Wildland Fire Page who have a video of the week page (updated weekly on the weekend)


Direct link to video


Direct link to video


Direct link  to video

And these two on bush fire(s) in the Kurri Kurri region of Australia, the first uploaded on January 18th and the second published on January 24th


Direct link to video


Direct link to video (click on show more on about this video)

Large and small air tankers flying fires in New South Wales, Australia

A distant relative of mine lives in New South Wales, Australia. Knowing of my blog and my interest in aerial wildland firefighting she sent me a news report from the ABC, an Australian media outlet, about a bush fire that burned a little over 3,000 hectares last week. The bush fire was not all that far from where she and her family live. She told me that the bush fire was under control on Thursday night (January 19th). I have read elsewhere about some bush fires that burned last week near where my relative lives in New South Wales. I provided some links for one of these bush fires, the Currandooley Fire, at the end of this post. I am not quite sure if the Currandooley fire is the fire that she told me about.

I enjoyed reading about the air tankers and helicopters that were used to help the firefighters on the ground fight the bush fire. The 10 Air Tanker's DC-10 "Southern Belle" and Coulson's C-130Q "Thor" are currently in New South Wales based at Richmond (see this article from Wildfire Today for more information), both flew the fire. The report my relative told me about is dated Friday, January 20th. It is about the people behind the helicopters and planes fighting the Tarago and Sutton fires and as chance would have it was also mentioned in Mike Archer's Wildfire News of the Day on January 20th.

Wildfire Today (1/17/17) report on Currandooley fire
Currandooley fire contained

Bushfire season in Australia - New South Wales

As we head into the holidays at the end of 2017 and then the New Year (just two weeks away), I find myself thinking that it is summer in Australia and that means bush fire season. Perhaps because I have a couple of contacts in New South Wales in Australia, I was wondering what is going in New South Wales. The bush fire agency in New South Wales, NSW Rural Fire Service has a nice webpage chock full of good links with a map of bush fire activity at the top of their entry page. The NSW Rural Fire Service has a nice Facebook page where they post videos, photos, and of course, information about bush fires. For those of you who prefer Twitter, the NSW Rural Fire Service Twitter page may be found here.

I knew from following Bill Gabbert's Fire Aviation that one of 10 Tanker Carrier's DC-10's (T-910 aka Southern Belle) and a Coulson C-130 (T-132, aka Thor) are under contract to New South Wales for their summer bush fire season. As I understand it, air tankers in Australia are considered a national resource and shared across Australian States as needed during bush fire season. Which probably explains why Coulson's T-132 was in Avalon, Victoria (Australia) when Coulson's T-131 (known as bomber 390) arrived in Avalon last week to start a contract in Victoria.

Fire Aviation posts on New South Wales (good videos and photos)

Coulson's T-132 arrives in New South Wales

10 Tanker Carrier's T-910 arrives in New South Wales

Coulson's C-130 on Facebook

10 Tanker Carrier on Facebook

Here are two Youtube videos of bush fire activity in New South Wales, both taken in late 2016.

Direct link to video

Direct link to video

New South Wales Australia November Bush Fires

It is summer down under in Australia, that means it is bush fire season. Here are a couple of videos showing some bush fire action.

In this short video you will see one of the DC-10 tankers from 10 Tanker, known as the "Southern Belle" making a drop on a bush fire.


Direct link to video

The next video is a little under eight minutes, it is aerial footage of the Londonderry Fire in New South Wales. Some of the footage is in black and white and some is in color. You will also some nice footage of a DC-10 tanker "Southern Belle" working the bush fire in support of the bush firefighters on the ground.


Direct link to video

Air Tractor 602 doing Ag spraying in South Africa

direct link to video

Some of you may have heard about a wildfire in Ventura County, California last Saturday as well as a brush fire in Victoria, Australia that burned 116 homes. Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today writes about:

The brush fire in Victoria, Australia on December 27th
The wildfire in Ventura County, CA in two posts on December 26th - about the wildfire and a family records fire as they drive by the fire

Australia - Maddens Plains Bush Fire, NSW (Dec 11, 2015)

Thanks to my friends at B10 NJ Wildland Fire Page who shared a wonderful video of fire footage last on their videos of the week page (videos change every Friday). I wanted to find some information to share with you about the video that you see below. I was pretty sure that this bush fire was in New South Wales (NSW), Australia so I looked at some of bookmarks. I found some information from the NSW Rural Fire Service that they shared on their Facebook page on December 12th, go here for photos and information.  The fire was south of Sydney Australia in an areaknown as Maddens Plains (near Bulli). I don't know how large he fire was, but it was contained on or before December 12th. Tankers Thor (Conair's T-132, a L-382G, civilian version of a C-130) and Southern Belle (DC-10) worked the fire.


Direct link to video

Australia - Pinery Fire (11/25/15) - South Australia

Late last month a friend of mine, who is currently living near Adelaide in South Australia told me about the Pinery Fire which started on or about November 25th and burned approximately 82,000 hectres (or 202,625 acres). The last advice message from the South Australian Country Fire Service was issued on December 2nd saying that the threat from the Pinery Fire is reduced. I could not find any containment information. Two people died in the fire.

I was interested in this fire and found a few short videos to share with you. You will see SEATs dropping in one of the videos.  The last video shows some of the damage from the Pinery Fire. One of the videos may contain some colorful language.



Direct link to video


Direct link to video


Direct link to video

Tankers from U.S. working fires in Australia

I am continuing my ongoing project of researching and reading about the Rim Fire post-fire recovery. One way or the other, I plan on having something to share with you sometime after the first of the year. Please be patient, and I promise to get back to you. In the meantime, this blog goes on. Today I thought I'd share with you a few videos that I came across in my wonderings on the internet showing airtankers from the United States working fires in Australia. Bill Gabbert of Fire Aviation wrote an excellent article in early September about North American air tankers under contract in New South Wales, Australia this summer (our winter): a DC-10 tanker (dubbed "Southern Belle", and Conair's T-132 (a L382-G, civilian version of a C-130 dubbed "Thor").

In the first video you will see Thor dropping on a fire in New South Wales, Bill Gabbert shared this video in Fire Aviation on December 14th. I'd also like to thank a friend who alerted me to this video.


direct link to video

And three videos showing "Southern Belle" doing what she does best.


direct link to video


direct link to video


direct link to video

Victoria, Australia - Lancefield Bushfire (Oct 9th)

The other day (Oct. 8th) I wrote about the Lancefield Bushfire in Victoria Australia. The County Fire Agency (CFA) in Victoria are now reporting having burned about 3,000 hectares. In an updated warning (Oct 9th, 6:57 PM local time) for Lancefield, Rochford, and Cobaw (fire origin, Lancefield):

There is a bushfire burning and is approximately up to 3000 hectares after good work from crews. 

The fire is not yet under control. (obtained on Oct. 9, 2015 at 1:15 PM EDT from http://warnings.cfa.vic.gov.au/#warning=17571210, link may be expired depending on when you are reading this).

Current warnings from CFA Victoria appear to be updated as new information is obtained by officials, a list of current warnings from the CFA Victoria may be found on the CFA Victoria warning page. I have not seen any mention of residences destroyed in the incident reports from CFA Victoria, but I may well be missing something.

According to a report from Skynews Australia (Oct 9th, 4:08 PM local time) five residences have been destroyed by the bushfire, and 22 aircraft including two large Airtankers from New South Wales have been flying the fire supporting the firefighters on the ground. Skynews also reports that about this bushfire has  burned about 3,000 hectares.

The Sydney Morning Herald had an Oct 8th report on this fire including a video.

Meanwhile, according to another report from the Sydney Morning Herald (Oct. 8) the residents in and near the Lancefield Brushfire are frustrated over this brushfire which escaped a prescribed burn last weekend.