OCFA receives new Firehawks
California’s Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) has received a pair of Sikorsky S-70 Firehawks to support its work in the upcoming wildfire season
The deliveries bring OCFA’s total firefighting fleet up to four aircraft, joining the agency’s two existing Bell 412EP rotorcraft.
The helicopters were delivered by United Rotorcraft from its Denver, Colorado-based completion center.
Sikorsky S-70s are capable of carrying up to 1,000gal of water at a time – substantially more than the 350gal that the Bell helicopters can each carry.
Training to operate the new helicopters is now in progress, with the aim of being ready before the peak fire season in August.
Canadian rotorcraft operator Expedition Helicopters recently acquired a firefighting helicopter of its own.
Oliver Cuenca
Oliver Cuenca is a Junior Editor at AirMed&Rescue. He was previously a News and Features Journalist for the rail magazine IRJ until 2021, and studied MA Magazine Journalism at Cardiff University. His favourite helicopter is the AW169 – the workhorse of the UK air ambulance sector! He also led the creation of Waypoint: The AirMed&Rescue podcast, serving as its Production Editor and co-host.