In August, about 70 emergency response teams of the local fire brigade and alpine rescue service, including Global Helicopter Service (GHS) flight and ground crew, conducted successful firefighting training in Ruhpolding/Chiemgau Alps, Germany.

Within this exercise, a forest fire had been assumed across the Chiemgau Arena in Ruhpolding/Bavaria, to be extinguished from the ground, as well as by air. The main target of the mission was to collaboratively train the teams of the fire brigades and the helicopter flight and ground crews to be able to work in harmony.

Valuable lessons were learned

On 12 September, a larger combined disaster response exercise was carried out at the military training area in Kammer, where GHS again supported the fire brigades with one of its Bell 412 helicopters as part of the exercise to simulate and train different scenarios.

Both training scenarios included several flights familiarizing ground personnel and helicopter crew by transporting loads up in the valley and dropping them in impassable terrain uphill, as well as water rejection with the Bambi Bucket.

On the second occasion, the Bambi Bucket was also used to refill a water basin, and 30 firefighters were deployed. With this, GHS could additionally demonstrate that with the Bell 412, larger numbers of firefighters can be redeployed to inaccessible areas in the shortest time in order to get them to the places where they are needed most.

These exercises also gave GHS good opportunities to test its internal procedures and equipment.

All participants and organizations involved were very satisfied with the achievements, and both of the forces that were training together were able to gain useful experience, said GHS.

Wildfire season has started, with 25 wildfires currently burning in California. In June, AirMed & Rescue interviewed Brittany Wise at Erickson, to discuss the eradication and control of wildfires.