A company in Cochrane, Ont., has bought a Black Hawk helicopter to fight forest fires
CBC
A Cochrane, Ont., company has added a Black Hawk helicopter to its fleet that it hopes to use to fight forest fires.
Todd Caliaezzi, president of Expedition Helicopters, says he purchased the military helicopter because of its speed and carrying capacity.
"Typical aircraft now, on route to a fire, will fly to that fire at 100 to 120 knots," he told Radio-Canada.
"The further the fire, the longer it takes us to get to it, and the bigger the fire gets. This aircraft can cruise to that fire at 160 knots, which is almost 1.5 times faster than current capabilities."
The aircraft can also carry a 3,600-kilogram exterior payload, and a special tank can increase that to 4,500 kilograms.
Pilot Jean-Michel Dumont estimates the helicopter could carry about 2,600 litres of water – to drop over a wildfire – each trip.
Sikorsky Helicopters developed the UH-60 Black Hawk in the 1970s for the U.S. army. It was designed to transport personnel in and out of combat zones quickly.
The U.S. army has decommissioned the alpha models of the helicopter. Once they are demilitarized, which includes removing weapons systems and bullet-proof Kevlar, private companies like Expedition Helicopters can purchase them at a fraction of their original cost.
A new Black Hawk would cost up to $21 million US, but a decommissioned one can go for as little as $750,000.
Caliaezzi said it took about a year to bring the helicopter to Canada. It's the fourth Black Hawk to be used for civilian purposes in Canada.
He said the Black Hawk will be used, at first, to transport water to forest fires.
But he hopes to eventually use it to transport people — including firefighters, search and rescue crews and paramedics —to areas that are difficult to reach in northern Ontario and Quebec.
"Although there are certain restrictions today, our goal is to eventually carry firefighters to the frontline, search and rescue people, medics, evac," Caliaezzi said.
"It's just opening a whole new corridor for us in our industry."
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