Firefighting fleet is ready to take off

VICTORIA’S firefighters will have a record number of aircraft supporting them across the state during the hotter months.

The 2019-20 air firefighting fleet has been in operation for some weeks and was officially presented at Avalon Airport on Thursday morning last week.

There will be 50 contracted aeroplanes and helicopters – one more than the previous summer – plus as many as 100 other aircraft that can be called up if needed.

The aircraft on show on Thursday included “Marty”, one of two distinctive orange Erickson Air-Crane helicopters that can each carry up to 7,500 litres of water, and “Hunter”, one of two Large Air Tankers (LATs) that can each carry up to 15,000 litres of water.

The LATs will be based at Avalon Airport, while the Air-Cranes will be based at the Essendon and Moorabbin airports.

Speaking at Avalon, Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said 38 aircraft were working that day and 19 of those had already been tasked to support crews fighting fires.

He said the mix of fire-bombing aircraft, air supervision and air intelligence-gathering aircraft undertook about 13,000 flying hours last summer, with the large majority (81 per cent) in Victoria’s east,
15 per cent in the west, and 4 per cent in New South Wales.

Minister for Police and Emergency Services Lisa Neville and Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Lily D’Ambrosio toured the aircraft and met their pilots on Thursday.

Ms Neville said Victoria was more prepared than ever for the coming fire season.

“Victoria’s largest-ever firefighting fleet will provide crucial support to our hard-working crews on the ground this summer, responding immediately to major incidents right across the state.”