Firefighting aircraft in the Harz: Firefighting pioneers in action!

Firefighting aircraft in the Harz: Firefighting pioneers in action!

In times of increasing forest fire danger, air support becomes increasingly important when fighting fires. The Harz district has now reacted and is relying on an effective solution: a fire-fighting aircraft. Balcerowski, a representative of the cooperation project, explains: “Some people are now approaching the topic.” This firefighting plane is an empty lid that can be quickly activated when not needed in the resin circle. The process is extremely simple: one call is enough to send the aircraft to the scene.

The firefighting aircraft is available to the respective operations management and makes fighting the fire considerably easier. Particular attention is being paid to setting up temporary landing pads that will allow the aircraft to be quickly refueled with water and re-airborne. This ensures that efficient operations can be implemented. A look at the costs shows that the hourly effort is around 3,400 euros net, which is distributed to the respective districts.

The technology behind the firefighting aircraft

The current firefighting aircraft, the Canadair CL-215T, is specifically designed for firefighting and has a long history dating back to the 1920s. As early as 1955, the first Boeing-Stearman Model 75 was successfully used as a fire-fighting aircraft. A lot has happened since then: firefighting aircraft can now drop up to 77,000 liters of water. The Canadian CL-215, which is considered a pioneer among firefighting aircraft, remains an important support in forest fire fighting with the CL-415.

Water is no longer the only drop of fire. In order to combat the now more intense forest fires more effectively - often caused by climate change - water-chemical mixtures are also used. According to Alexander Held, an expert at the European Forest Institute, the increase in forest fires is a direct result of the extreme weather caused by climate change. It is therefore crucial for the emergency services that fire-fighting aircraft and helicopters are ready for action quickly to ensure an immediate initial attack.

The future of firefighting

Interest in new technologies in firefighting is constantly growing. The use of unmanned aerial vehicles is already being tested to further increase the efficiency of firefighting. Drones equipped with extinguishing agents could play an even greater role in the future. There are promising approaches that could expand the fire brigade's arsenal and, in a sense, turn the sky into a “flying fire brigade”.

It remains exciting to see how the cooperation in the Harz district develops and what further measures are taken to improve firefighting.