New Water Bomber for Victoria
State Government to lease multi-million dollar fire-fighting jet Matt Johnston From: Herald Sun November 07, 2009 12:00AM
EXCLUSIVE: A MULTI-million dollar super water-bomber capable of soaking a 1.2km bushfire in one hit will join our firefighting arsenal this summer.
The water-bombing jet will be able to reach anywhere in Victoria in just 45 minutes, and is being billed as an important weapon in heading off another Black Saturday disaster.
With forecasts of a fierce summer, Premier John Brumby moved quickly to get an Australian-first firefighting jet lease, most likely a modified DC-10 or 747 jumbo carrier.
Police and Emergency Services Minister Bob Cameron told the Herald Sun the aircraft would be one important weapon in fighting fires and protecting Victorians.
"This will be another asset as we leave no stone unturned to help deliver on our goal of making Victoria as fire safe and as fire ready as possible," he said.
"Large aircraft that can carry up to eight times the water or retardant of smaller firefighting aircraft are untrialled in Australian conditions."
2A DC-10 or 747 carrier would be able to drop a similar-sized load - more than 50,000 litres of water or fuel retardant - to the Russian Ilyushin jets that were rejected by the State Government during February's bushfires that claimed 173 lives.
A lease for a water bomber of this size can cost up to $10 million a season, and testing of the selected bomber will begin in January for use during the worst summer heat.
It is believed a new Victorian aircraft would be used on fires that are just beginning or to help contain a developing bushfire front.
Mr Brumby had said at the time that those aircraft were deemed unsuitable for our terrain and the offer was too late to have an impact.
"You could imagine in some of these big areas, flying throughout some of our high country, how difficult and testing that would be," the Premier had said.
At that time, Mr Brumby was already deep in discussions with federal counterparts to try to fast-track a new aircraft for Victoria that could be properly tested.
Before those discussions, an agreement to increase Victoria's leased aerial firefighting system was not on the cards until 2010-11.
Mr Brumby has spoken publicly about his fears of a horror bushfire season, with conditions at least as bad as the past year.
The Department of Sustainability and Environment and the CFA say aircraft are not silver bullets and proper investigations are necessary into the most effective water carriers.
The Californian Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has used a DC-10 Airtanker as a key firefighting tool during past fire seasons, and describes the plane on its website as "suitable for larger-scale drops".
The Herald Sun believes the State Government is keen to see how effective a big bomber will be this summer, to determine whether future use is effective for Victoria.
Space to house the aircraft would also be an issue, and Tullamarine or Avalon airport would need to be fitted with special infrastructure to cater for the super-soaker.
Zones to load the aircraft with water or fuel retardant at high speed will need to be set aside.
I remember quite a few years ago the RAAF was experimenting with C130's with some form of spray equipment for fire suppression. I'm not sure why this never went ahead.