- Title:
-
Flying in Formation: Collaborative approach to aerial fire management in Australia
- Date:
- September 2009
- Organisations
- NAFC
- Authors:
- SA Country Fire Service, Adelaide, SA, Australia
- Location:
- South Australia, Australia
Overview
The National Aerial Firefighting Centre (NAFC) was incorporated in July 2003 by Australian States and Territories to provide more effective support for the combating of wildfires. It achieves this through national co-operative arrangements for aerial firefighting.NAFC facilitates the establishment of a fleet of highly specialised firefighting aircraft that are readily available for use by State and Territory emergency agencies across Australia. This national aircraft fleet complements aerial firefighting resources that are arranged directly by the States and Territories. The national fleet receives funding support from the Australian Government as well as State and Territory Governments.
This national fleet of aircraft enables the efficient sharing of aerial fire fighting resources over peak times of wildfire risk so no single jurisdiction has to individually scale up for the worst possible fire event. NAFC plays a key role in facilitating the sharing of these resources between fire agencies throughout Australia, and in the development of national protocols and systems for aerial firefighting.
With the formation of NAFC, South Australia has seen major benefits from the resultant collaborative arrangements. Opportunities include the access to specialised aviation resources through the collective procurement that NAFC and its member agencies manage, and the development of information and knowledge networks across aviation operatives that have enabled significant learning and operational improvements in CFS systems of aerial operations.
