I know it was you Jim ;o)

Dellortoman said:
Good thing the kids got out of the pool first. Wouldn't be a good look to drop a load of wet kids on a forest fire.  :o
Click to expand...

surprised he did not cut off the lantern at the pool...  :o

If you'd do that in Germany, you would go to jail... But amazed about the control of that helicopter pilot he came in quite quickly I feel, he dropped the thing into the pool precisely, waited for the last big bubbles to come up and took off gently but constantly. Very nice job!
 
They do bucket fills alot here in Mallorca from private swimming pools too. This year wasnt so bad with fires, and we didnt see too many choppers doing that, but other years we saw it around our area quite a bit

check this guy out, I think I would loose my lunch on this ride
https://youtu.be/n9ZUXNeBoHo
 
Laverdalothar said:
If you'd do that in Germany, you would go to jail...
Click to expand...

That helicopter belonged at the time of the video to a German company ..... Agrarflug Helilift GmbH ...... but the video was filmed in Portugal. The use of swimming pools is common in France as well. You can get a huge subsidy from the government to build a pool but then it is automatically available to firefighting assets at anytime. I had a friend who went to an unsanctioned pool somewhere in the French Riviera and couldn't figure out what the thumping noises were ........ the helicopter behind him radioed that the owner of the pool was beating on the tailboom with the pool leaf skimmer. He was arrested (the owner).

That helicopter in this video is now in Canada by the way.

Jim
 
Jim: As a Canadian, we gotta keep our Aussie Breganzie enthusiasts foes amused  ;o)

I saw Catalina PBY's and Huey's dipping water off my front door in the 50's and 60's. Starting as a kid in a canoe.

Fire Fighting is horrendous and I do not want to recall the carnage fire can do. Been on top of a mountain when fire apex's, (Crowned and the heat burned my lungs) and oxygen gone, hosing a smoldering bear with no hair next to me, did not know if I would survive.

I remember the after math when the flames went out. Like me, the wild life just froze in time and cherished life. I'm not exaggerating as that's a true story.

God send my new found fighters maintaining the pumps.

We used 2 canoes filed with water up the mountain and 5hp pumps to deliver an end to that fire. I should have died along with that Bear, Skunks, Porky Pines, Squirrels, Chipmunks, Rabbit's, Deer, Mice and Otters... etc (One Fox no Wolves), all on top of that mountain - But we survived.

You could not comprehend the fire wall I had to hose when trees are exploding - Never again.

Fire fighting is Extremely Dangerous but I was young and fearless at the time.

Jim: I've been knocked over by one of you misaligned dumps and it hurts.

I ended being a Canadian Traffic Control Dispatcher subject to the Uniform Code Rules for Transportation and Safety.
For me, there's nothing like experiencing the Canadian MID North. Initials were RGD (Real Good Dispatcher) on your Clearance Orders followed by the time and date.

At 73, things are changing so fast were I hardly recognize it anymore.
 
Laverda SF said:
Jim: As a Canadian, we gotta keep our Aussie Breganzie enthusiasts foes amused  ;o)

Shouldn't be too hard ...... they're not much different than us ....... they just have better tanning options.

Fire fighting is Extremely Dangerous but I was young and fearless at the time.

I started out as a ground-pounder in the 70's ..... Temagami and Gogama ....... never had a close call but I spent my fair share of time up to my waste in loonshit packing a Mark 3. Stepped off a pad and went up to my neck once. Turned around and saw the pilot laughing his ass off. I think that's the moment that steered me to where I am now.

Jim: I've been knocked over by one of you misaligned dumps and it hurts.

I've only done that deliberately a few times ..... but I have done high drops on request to damp down an area for some crews threatened but fire.
I've seen what 6,000 pounds of water can do ...... trees get flattened. When I was working a fire last January south of Nowra I was tasked to some structure protection as the ground crews were about 30 minutes away. Came across one home where the water tank at the side of the house had melted away but initially the home looked safe. Dropped water on the lawn to put out some grass burning and then I noticed some smoke coming from the eaves of the garage. Brought another bucket of water and tried to gently dump it on the roof to see if it could help but all I could see was more smoke coming out. The next bucket I dropped from 50 feet and I could see the roof buckle a bit. The next drop stove in a corner of the roof and I could see jets of flame coming out. Two more drops and all I could see was steam. I left it at that and came back 20 minutes later to see the home still standing and ground crews on site.
Always wondered what was in the garage and hoped I didn't wreck some valuable possession.

I ended being a Canadian Traffic Control Dispatcher

I avoid control towers ....... bush pilots aren't known for their control zone etiquette. I got yelled at lots!
Click to expand...
 
Laverda SF said:
Jim: As a Canadian, we gotta keep our Aussie Breganzie enthusiasts foes amused  ;o)

I saw Catalina PBY's and Huey's dipping water off my front door in the 50's and 60's. Starting as a kid in a canoe.

Fire Fighting is horrendous and I do not want to recall the carnage fire can do. Been on top of a mountain when fire apex's, (Crowned and the heat burned my lungs) and oxygen gone, hosing a smoldering bear with no hair next to me, did not know if I would survive.

I remember the after math when the flames went out. Like me, the wild life just froze in time and cherished life. I'm not exaggerating as that's a true story.

God send my new found fighters maintaining the pumps.

We used 2 canoes filed with water up the mountain and 5hp pumps to deliver an end to that fire. I should have died along with that Bear, Skunks, Porky Pines, Squirrels, Chipmunks, Rabbit's, Deer, Mice and Otters... etc (One Fox no Wolves), all on top of that mountain - But we survived.

You could not comprehend the fire wall I had to hose when trees are exploding - Never again.

Fire fighting is Extremely Dangerous but I was young and fearless at the time.

Jim: I've been knocked over by one of you misaligned dumps and it hurts.

I ended being a Canadian Traffic Control Dispatcher subject to the Uniform Code Rules for Transportation and Safety.
For me, there's nothing like experiencing the Canadian MID North. Initials were RGD (Real Good Dispatcher) on your Clearance Orders followed by the time and date.

At 73, things are changing so fast were I hardly recognize it anymore.
Click to expand...
got to take my hat off to ya, in the UK we have kids setting fire to bonfires the week before bonfire night ( guy fawkes November 5th) so it's pretty wet anyway. But as a kid in the 60s I ended up in hospital as i got stuck in barbed wire fence in a blizzard on Saddleworth Moor. The kid next to me had burns due to fireworks and to this day 55 years on I can still hear him.
Regards Andy
 
Burns means your alive but believe me a Firefighter does not die from burns - Burning lungs and no oxygen will kill you first before the pain of fire.
 
I avoid control towers ....... bush pilots aren't known for their control zone etiquette. I got yelled at lots!
Click to expand...

A Hot Rod Helo-Pilot still needs a Real Good Dispatcher (RGD) to keep him out of trouble, I'll protect your Work Zone and inform any conflicting traffic by order, knowing you acknowledge the rules - It was my Job and Pay Check but most of all to Protect the Men and Women involved in transportation by invoking the rules ;o)

I'm lucky - Never had a death while I dispatched after some 18 years of service and proud to say I have saved lives - Maybe one died, a man named Squirrel in OBA Ontario but it happened just before my 1st appointment.

Forest Fires, Crashes, Shootings, Run away kids and Robbery - been through it all as a Railway Transportation Controller.
Do not think I did not have lines to Air Traffic Control but also to Provincial Police, RCMP and CSIS. I was a Gov't Licensed open line Dispatcher that administrated UCOR rules.

Needless to say a very stressful job and not many lasted to collect a full pension. Neither did I ;o(

--------------------------------

PS: I hold the most single track train meets and train Robbery's Incidences on Canadian record - I'm sure the late 70's Ferland siding train robbery's was an CNR embarrassment and wiped from History as Gov't Transportation Authority was a sleep that New Year's Eve. I know the the story as I was a Junior Staff Dispatcher on duty operating out of the Hornpayne office in charge of all Northern Ontario Rail Traffic at the time, before the days of Cell Phone. I personally sat on the Jack Fish River bridge that spring and watched the Natives excavate the booty by plane and they praised me for being a R.G.D as I could not implement law repeating everybody stay cool and safe - LOL

3 CNR Express Trains robbed that Mid-Night shift. West bound 219, 217 and East bound 218. There was a lot of reports of 30-30's, Lee Enfields and Shot Guns that night.

Ferland and the Jack Fish River is middle of nowhere in Northern Ontario but it's home to me and so are the People.

It would make a great story on CTV News W5.

Jim: I had a Native Track Foreman with a blown knee from a 4:10 blast being stalked by his wife at Hellsport - Both drunk (I assume) and I spotted him with a Helo-Ambulance from Sudbury 1 hr later to the middle of a frozen lake LZ. Lucky for him she was out of ammo. One year later on the Hornepayne platform, both of them hugged me. He was carrying a Motor Rolla 5W hand set. He would have probably died on that lake if it were not for the newly installed Micro-Wave towers along the CNR line. I kept him online to everything I was doing and talk him through it.

That's just one successful story but there are other very sad stories I've encountered  - Fortunate for me, I was not on duty and never had anyone die on my watch.


 
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