Tasmania’s aerial firefighting capabilities have been boosted ahead of the looming bushfire season, with 15 helicopters and aeroplanes secured.
Nine specialised aircraft have already arrived in the south of the state, with six more to join the fleet before Christmas.
Tasmania Fire Service Deputy Chief Officer Matt Lowe said they include a mix of firebombing, aerial supervision and aerial intelligence-gathering aircraft.
“Whilst this is an important capability, we rely heavily on our career and volunteer firefighters to get onto the ground, onto these fires and put them out,” he said.
“Aircraft are only part of the capability we deploy to fires. They do not put them out, but what they do is hold the fire until we can get those important ground resources onto the fires.”
The fleet includes eight helicopters and seven fixed-wing planes, some of which are equipped with amphibious floats that allow them to land on water.
Lowe said crews across the service are “ready and primed for whatever the fire season brings” and urged people across the state to plan for the worst.
“There will be days under catastrophic fire conditions where we cannot deploy these aircraft and that’s where we rely on the community being prepared, ready to act should a fire take off in their area,” he said.
Police, Fire and Emergency Management Minister Felix Ellis pointed to a number of free resources available to Tasmanians through TasAlert and the Tasmania Fire Service website.
“We’re expecting a normal bushfire season but that will mean total fire ban days and the potential for bushfires that may burn for several days,” he said.
“So while our firefighting fleet and our firefighting teams are gearing up for the summer, there are things that you can do too to help keep you and your loved ones safe.”
