One of two firefighting helicopters based in Bendigo was dispatched to fight a fire in Baringhup yesterday as Victoria’s heatwave continued unabated.
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CFA district 2 duty officer Chris Jacobsen said the Helitack was dispatched to fires automatically as soon as the fire danger index reached a predetermined trigger point.
“It’s a truck in the sky now,” he said.
“It responds automatically like a local brigade would and it’ll support the local brigade or be turned back if it’s not required.”
Mr Jacobsen said the aircraft responded to about 50 per cent of fires.
“Sometimes they’ll drop one load and sometimes they’ll drop ten or more depending on what the fire’s doing,” he said.
The other helicopter acts as a command platform and liaises with ground crews.
