7/7/2018 Heatwaves In Ireland. Today the Defence ForcesÊdeployedÊtwo helicoptersÊto assist local authorities fighting a large fire in the Slieve Bloom Mountains near the Laois-Offaly border. This is the third day the Air Corps have been involved with the Slieve Bloom fire, and overÊthe course of the three days they haveÊdropped overÊ100,000 litres of waterÊin assisting the local fire services. There were also 75 troops deployed on the ground to assist last Thursday drawn from barracks inÊAthlone and Kilkenny.This is the eighth consecutive day the Defence Forces have deployed assets in a bid to stop the spread of wildfires in remote regions.ÊFollowingÊrequests from the civil authorities, the Air Corps has responded to requests in Dublin, Wicklow, Limerick, Cork, Tipperary and Offaly and has dropped over 400,000Êlitres of water using specialised equipment. Agusta Westland AW139 helicopters have been utilised as they can be equipped with a ÔBambiÕ bucket aerial firefighting system capable of dropping 1,200 litres of water per pass. This amount of water, concentrated in a small areas, makes an immediate impact on wildfires.
The Air Corps have also provided a Eurocopter EC135 as a command and control platform and a CASA CN235 Maritime Patrol Aircraft, which is equipped with power sensors and radar, to identify other areas affected throughout Ireland.Ê
These operation are ongoing and the Defence Forces are prepared to continue firefighting operations in support of our communities. Photo Defences Forces