- Title:
-
Effectiveness of Aircraft Operations by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment and the Country Fire Authority 1997-1998
- Date:
- July 2003
- Organisations
- DSE
- Authors:
- Gregory J. McCarthy
- Location:
- Victoria, VIC, Australia
Overview
During the 1997–98 fire season the-then Department of Natural Resources and Environment (NRE) and Country Fire Authority (CFA) in Victoria operated the largest fleet to that time of contract firebombing aircraft of any State or Territory in Australia.Both the fleet and the expertise required to manage it were developed by NRE and its predecessor organisations over the previous five decades. Operational experience and experiments with aircraft during a number of large wildfires led to the development of a mainly contract air fleet which minimised costs and maximised efficiency. Further, an emphasis on training of both Departmental and contract staff resulted in an operation where effectiveness is combined with high safety standards.
The 1997–98 fire season in Victoria was influenced by the El Niño Southern Oscillation phenomenon, the prolonged drought effects of which caused some parts of the State to experience their driest period on record. NRE attended 1056 fires for the season - a 20-year record. Aircraft and CFA resources proved important in fighting a number of the larger fires.
The 1997–98 season saw the first use in Australia of an Erickson S64F Aircrane. This 9000-litre capacity helicopter was engaged in anticipation of exceptional seasonal conditions. It contributed significantly to the existing fleet of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.
This study sought to gauge the effectiveness of this fleet of aircraft, particularly in first attack of fires. Information was derived from interviews with experienced fire-control and air-operations staff. Where possible, their responses were rated to facilitate statistical analysis. Fire records provided specific data about weather, fuels and fire behaviour and suppression.
The study found that the most effective use of aircraft during first attack was in direct attack to either slow or stop the head fire. Their next most effective use was in the provision of reconnaissance services to assist ground crews to reach fires. Fire managers rated aircraft as a highly effective tool in assisting initial containment of a fire. Their responses indicated that aircraft were capable of contributing 64% of the combined effort by both aircraft and ground forces in containing a fire at the first-attack stage.
Response time was found to be the greatest restriction on the effectiveness of aircraft. A predictive model for final fire size was constructed using the response time of the aircraft, the time taken for the combined air and ground forces to achieve containment and the fire danger for the day. It showed that the earlier that both air and ground forces were able to get to a fire, the more able they were to contain it to a relatively small size.
Importantly, aircraft were directly responsible for saving more than $4 million worth of material assets that were in the direct path of fire and would otherwise have been destroyed. Savings resulting from constraining many potentially large fires to small sizes could not be determined, but were also likely to be substantial. These outcomes are important in terms of risk assessment, particularly for future considerations about the size and running costs of the aircraft firefighting fleet.
