The NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) has been preparing for summer with upgrades to Australia\u2019s largest firefighting helicopter, including increased water-holding capacity and new night-time capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The CH-47 Chinook helicopter can now hold 11,000 litres of water in an internal tank, making it an even better asset in firefighting efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the tank upgrade, the helicopter can fill faster, deploy more effectively, and conduct night-time operations when fire intensity is typically lower. Previously, the Chinook had a bucket that made it too dangerous to be used at night-time or over densely populated areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Added to the RFS aerial fleet last year, the Chinook has been instrumental in firefighting efforts in NSW and is one of only a few Chinook helicopters in use for firefighting activity globally, with the heavy transport helicopter mostly used by defence forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NSW has the most aerial firefighting aircraft of any state and territory in Australia. In addition to the Chinook, the fleet this season includes the Boeing 737 Large Air Tanker \u2018Marie Bashir\u2019, two Cessna Citations, one King Air fixed-wing aircraft and six Bell 412 helicopters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new tank was fitted out locally and is a permanent solution that replaces a temporary 10,000-litre bucket. It allows the Chinook to carry the largest water payload of any firefighting helicopter in Australia and second only to the \u2018Marie Bashir\u2019 in the RFS fleet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This expanded capability builds on the RFS\u2019s strategic partnership with the Royal Australian Air Force, with the aircraft operating out of RAAF Base Richmond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Operating from bases across the state, including Richmond, Dubbo, Coffs Harbour and Cooma, the RFS fleet is further supported by more than 200 additional aircraft available on an as-needed basis through the National Aerial Firefighting Centre (NAFC) and other agreements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe can never be too prepared for summer and the upgraded Chinook makes the RFS aerial fleet even stronger in the fight against fires.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis new capability to safely conduct aerial waterbombing at night is a game-changer for our response, allowing for faster turnarounds and greater capacity to protect people and properties.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur aerial fleet includes crucial assets that support our RFS volunteers and personnel on the ground to keep communities as safe as possible, and I thank them for everything they do for our state.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs we enter the warmer months and as the RFS and other fire agencies prepare, communities across the state should also do their bit by checking the readiness of their properties and their plan in the event of an emergency.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Commissioner of the NSW Rural Fire Service Rob Rogers said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis addition means that the Chinook can directly attack fires with precision when conditions are typically more favourable \u2013 such as at night.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe RFS is prepared to deploy our robust and versatile fleet wherever and whenever needed to protect communities and respond swiftly to fires across NSW.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) has been preparing for summer with upgrades to Australia\u2019s largest firefighting helicopter, including increased water-holding capacity and new night-time capabilities. The CH-47 Chinook helicopter can now hold 11,000 litres of water in an internal tank, making it an even better asset in firefighting efforts. With the tank upgrade, the … Continue reading “Game-changing upgrade for Australia\u2019s largest firefighting helicopter”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nswnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30545"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30545\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30546,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30545\/revisions\/30546"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}