INAER Spain (INAER), one of the country’s leading emergency service providers, is preparing for this year’s firefighting season, which experts believe will be especially tough due to the lack of rainfall recorded in much of the country during the winter. In the south east in particular, the Mediterranean terrain and vegetation are extremely dry, carrying a high risk of forest fires.
INAER will deploy 76 specially equipped firefighting aircraft across 66 bases throughout the country. The campaign will involve more than 300 professionals, including pilots and aircraft maintenance technicians, who are highly qualified in firefighting and prevention.
The fleet is made up of 71 helicopters, including 10 Kamov Ka-32s, with a water discharge capacity of over 4,500 liters. It also includes 17 highly versatile Bell 412s, as well as lighter aircraft for transport and firefighting, such as two Airbus Helicopters AS350 B3s. INAER also has a fleet of fire surveillance aircraft to ensure fires are prevented. The fleet is composed of two Airbus AS355N and two AgustaWestland A109 Power helicopters equipped with coordination and image transmission technology.
INAER also operates a fleet of five fixed wing firefighting aircraft, including two Air Tractor 802As with a water capacity of over 3,100 liters and two Partenavia P68s, specially equipped for observation and image transmission.
This campaign will complement the one operated by the company during the winter and spring months, where a total of 18 aircraft were on call throughout the country. It has been a particularly active pre-season campaign; INAER has completed more than 700 flight hours and have helped extinguish major forest fires in Alicante, Valencia and Ibiza.
Balance 2013
During the 2013 campaign, INAER carried out more than 5,300 firefighting missions throughout the country, completing more than 7,100 flight hours.
The company completed 4,778 firefighting missions and 541 prevention operations (extinguishing small fires which could become major forest fires).
The aerial services (including INAER) which are used by regional governments and organizations such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment carried out a total of 40,468 water drops.
These human and aerial resources will help prevent a repeat of the 2012 campaign, which saw Spain face one of the worst summers on record, with more than 200,000 acres burned and devastating fires in the Canary Islands, Andalusia and Valencia.
