Helitac 669 dropped the 15,000th load of water recently in relentless defence of Perth homes against the ravages of their West Australian summer bush-fire season. Sporting the recognisable red tail as one of Perths four fire-fighting Squirrel helicopters, the 669 machine was piloted by Greg Ellis and crewed by Fire and Rescue Services Station Officer Bruce Johnston. The team combined with multiple ground crews fighting a fire in Mossman Park on the 8th of February, and were unaware of their milestone effort until the 2012 bush-fire season ended and statistics were tallied.
The AS350 B3 Squirrel helicopters have been operated by HNZ Australia at Perth Domestic Airport as dedicated fire-fighting aircraft since 2005. Initially starting off as a single pair, their capability was doubled in the second season and the four well-recognised machines have been busy patrolling the 120 kilometre radius around Perth ever since. Under the Emergency Services Act, the Helitacs can hover over virtually any suitable water source and draw up their water to fight near-by blazes. They can suck-up 1000 litres of water in only 45 seconds and deliver that load with remarkable accuracy and speed. Because of the excellent speed and manoeuvrability of the Squirrels and well documented water sources all around Perth, it is not uncommon for each helicopter to be delivering a load of water ever three minutes.
Having the four machines available in the metropolitan area, gives fantastic coverage on local fires where multiple repetitive drops consistently save property, Brenton Davis a HNZ Australia spokesman said. The Helitacs really prove their value though when career and volunteer ground crews combine with aerial assets to work together in the fight, he added. The ability to support a dozer by cooling the fire-line, or laying down a wet-line for ground crews to work from, is invaluable in the fire-fight. Plus the ability to view and plan the attack from above is always well appreciated and utilized.
The Helitacs have always worked in conjunction with Fixed-Wing water bombers for the overall seasonal strategy. The more manoeuvrable Squirrels are used mainly for the rural-urban interface, with the fixed-wing concentrating more on the rural / heavily timbered country. In recent years the Type 3 Helitacs have been joined by larger twin-engine Type 1 S61s and even this year trialled an S64 SkyCrane.
HNZ Australia is part of the HNZ Group International and operates from the Perth Domestic Airport. The local base started out 25 years ago servicing the W.A. mining industry and have grown and expanded into Marine Pilot Transfer, Power Line operations, Customs and the ADF, as well as virtually every other type of helicopter operation available. They are contracted to the W.A. Fire and Emergency Services Authority for around 100 Helitac days each fire season from November to April. The machines also fly the 2000nm journey across the country each year for their contracted fire-fighting role with the Queensland Government, in September to November. HNZ Australia can be reached on 08-9267 1600 or through www.hnzglobal.com
