Battling fires and transporting emergency medical patients more than tripled the flight time and number of flights for Flagler County’s fire and rescue helicopter FireFlight this year.
At the close of the fiscal year Oct. 1, FireFlight had logged 527 flights, 438.6 hours in the air and in the process dumped 339,993 gallons of water on wildfires this year. That compares to 269 flights and 155 hours 61,870 gallons of water last year.
Medical flights, fighting fires, spotting fires or fire reconnaissance and training took up most of flying time for the county helicopter.
With the purchase of the new FLIR infrared camera in January, the helicopter crew been also working more closely with the Flagler County Sheriff’s office. Flights to support law enforcement were up from 17 in 2005 to 60 flights this year.
This years’ fire season, however really put the helicopter to the test.
“Fire reconnaissance was the key to keeping the fires under control,” Dana Morris Flight Operations Chief said. “That made a dramatic difference in staying on top of the fire situation. We spotted the fires early, we were able to get water on it and people on the way to the fire before it had time to grow.”
During the fire season this spring FireFlight made two and sometimes three flights around the county checking on hot spots and looking for new fires. “That is where we picked up most of our fires, Dana said.
“FireFlight has proven its value to the county in this year’s fire season alone,” County Administrator Doug Wright said. “The ability to search out fires in remote areas and jump on them before they become a serious threat is an important fact in the outcome of the county’s fire season this year.”
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