Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Area plant sending helicopters to fire fight
Sikorsky’s Coatesville facility sends two S-70i Black Hawks
Sikorsky delivered two S-70i Black Hawk helicopters to the County of Los Angeles at a ceremony in its Coatesville area plant, the company said Thursday.
The S-70i Black Hawk helicopters will be customized to a Firehawk configuration to meet L.A. County Fire Department’s specifications.
The transaction was a timely one, given the number of wildfires Southern California has experienced this year.
On Wednesday, firefighters contained part of the fifthlargest fire in the state’s history but warned coastal communities they were still at risk if unpredictable winds whipped up again to fan the flames.
The National Weather Service extended warnings through Friday of extreme fire danger conditions throughout much of Southern California due to lack of moisture along with a possible increase in wind gust speeds at the end of the week.
Firefighters made some progress Wednesday on corralling the so-called Thomas Fire, which has spread into national forest land northwest of Los Angeles. However, they warned that the fire would continue to spread west as it eats up parched brush. And in the city, fire officials announced that a cooking fire at a homeless encampment sparked a blaze last week that destroyed six homes in the exclusive Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles.
“We are very happy to take delivery of these two new Firehawk aircraft,” said Thomas Ewald, deputy fire chief of L.A. County’s Fire Department’s Air and Wildland Division. “With the recent catastrophic wildland fires in L.A. and the Southern California region, the need for additional effective firefighting resources, such as the S-70i Firehawk, is readily apparent. These two additional aircraft will enhance our existing fleet and strengthen both our day and night aerial firefighting capability, ultimately improving our ability to protect the lives and property of our citizens.”
Sikorsky said a Firehawk helicopter performs aerial firefighting and can be used to plan missions and direct other firefighting aircraft. It also can be used to provide emergency medical service transport, search and rescue and logistic support.
Once modified by a special-
ist outfitter in 2018 with a 1,000-gallon (3,785-liter) water tank, extended landing gear, single pilot cockpit layout and a medically-equipped interior, the new aircraft will increase to five the L.A. County Fire Department’s fleet of Firehawk multi-role helicopters.
Compared to LA County’s three existing S-70A model Firehawk aircraft, the S-70i variant includes wide chord rotor blades for increased payload and maneuverability, enhanced engine power, a stronger airframe, a digital cockpit with flight management system for enhanced situation awareness, and an Integrated Vehicle Health Management System to monitor the aircraft’s operational health, Sikorsky said. Among improved safety features, the S-70i aircraft includes a terrain and obstacle avoidance system that alerts aircrew to the proximity of potential hazards on the ground.
“The Firehawk helicopter is born from an S-70i Black Hawk because of its proven and robust military design, which enables it to endure the enormous physical stresses required to drop 1,000 gallons of water multiple times a day on the fire line,” Dan Schultz, president of Sikorsky, said in a statement. “The advanced Firehawk platform is a third generation Black Hawk with increased engine power, speed, maneuverability, higher altitude operations and improved mission availability. We stand behind L.A. County and will continue to support them during their critical missions, ensuring they continue to save untold lives and properties with our Sikorsky products.”
The L.A. County Fire Department was the first municipal organization to purchase the Firehawk in December 2000, Sikorsky said.
Sikorsky is owned by Lockheed Martin.