Standing their ground against wildfires

It’s a war out there. Battle lines were drawn and now begins the arduous task of monitoring the movements of a foe so unpredictable, even the most hardened of foresters have countless times met their match. “Runaway wild fires can sneak up and attack your flanks if you aren’t careful,” explained Lowveld and Escarpment Fire …

September 18, 2013

Joe Dreyer 4 minutes read

The Air Tractor-802F coming in for landing at the Nelspruit airfield after a demonstration drop.

It’s a war out there. Battle lines were drawn and now begins the arduous task of monitoring the movements of a foe so unpredictable, even the most hardened of foresters have countless times met their match.

“Runaway wild fires can sneak up and attack your flanks if you aren’t careful,” explained Lowveld and Escarpment Fire Prevention Agency (LEFPA) manager, mr Andre Scheepers. “It is like a chess game really. We, along with our partners such as the Working on Fire Programme have to employ various tactics in order to contain and ultimately control runaway fires. One of the greatest weapons we have in our artillery is our airborne fighting division which through the use of both fixed wing aircraft and helicopters offer support and reinforcements to our ground crews during the fire season.”

In the event of a serious wildfire, the help of the air wing is called in to offer the ground crews support from above. The pilots scramble from the Nelspruit Airfield in both helicopters and fixed-wing craft.

Helicopters can hover over the fire and drop water or retardant from so-called “bambi” buckets while the planes fly in at low altitudes to perform “bombing runs” or “drops”. Spotter aircraft often circle the fire at higher altitudes from where it is possible for them to coordinate the efforts of the aircraft and the ground crew below. Lead planes fly ahead of the helicopters and air bombers to mark the trajectory for the drops, and ensure overall safety for both ground-based and aerial firefighters.

Typically, the modern firefighters employ the use of fire retardants chemicals such as foam rather than just water as the effect of water is short lived. It is for this reason that water is usually dropped directly onto flames and fire retardants typically dropped ahead of the moving fire or along its edge. Retardants may remain effective for two or more days. If deployed correctly, a fire retardant drop can create an artificial firebreak where the terrain is too rugged or remote for ground crews to cut a fire line.

“Aerial firefighting, however, is most effectively used in conjunction with ground-based efforts. Aircraft are only one weapon in the firefighting arsenal, however, there have been cases of aircraft extinguishing fires long before ground crews were able to reach them,” said Heine. “There are many factors that determine the success of our efforts though, including runways, pilots, aircraft, ground vehicles and training of the crew. If one unit fails, the whole system would be rendered useless.”

As part of their continuous search for improvement of their fire prevention and control capabilities, the FFA looked further afield to their European counterparts for answers. Europe and South Africa share a common denominator – both are listed as hotspots for wildfires globally.

It was during a trip to Valencia, Spain, that Heine and FFA Aviation Maintenance Manager, Rinus van Raaij, came face to face with the Air Tractor-802F.

The impressive American-designed Air Tractor-802F is acknowledged globally as one of the best, most accurate and manoeuvrable wildfire fighting bombers ever assembled.

The craft carries a chemical hopper between the cockpit and engine which allows it, through use of a highly advanced computer system, to deploy a wide variety of attacks on runaway wildfires. It is recognised in aerial firefighting circles as a fast, manoeuvrable aircraft that is not only operationally effective, but also extremely fuel-efficient. The Air Tractor deploys an advanced, patented computer-controlled system to deliver retarding foam on fires in places that most other craft struggle to reach, and thus provides the perfect support for helicopters which use bambi bags to drop water on small areas during the operation. Because of its impressive power-to-weight ratio, it is able to carry a large volume of foam or even water to affected areas.

The plane is capable of dropping its entire 3 000-litre load in a single pass or split the load in a duel-drop tactic to provide not only “cover fire”, but also air support to the ground crews.

The Air Tractor-802F was acquired by the FFA Group from Air Tractor Europe earlier this year and flown to Nelspruit earlier this month after completion of the registration and certificate of airworthiness process as required by the South African Civil Aviation Authority.

The flight lasted six days from Valencia in Spain and was completed without incident by Van Raaij. “We are absolutely delighted to add this machine to our fleet. It will certainly make a huge contribution to our wildfire fighting capability in virtually any environment.”

INTERESTING AERIAL FIRE FIGHTING AIRCRAFT FACTS

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Standing their ground against wildfires

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