Lhe figures communicated at the highest level of the State on the state of the Civil Security fleet are somewhat biased, estimates Pierre (who wishes to remain anonymous), active water bomber pilot, who makes the inventory for Point resources available in France. This fighter pilot flew after his military career for more than twenty years with the Civil Security in Tracker, then in Canadair, more than 3,000 hours of flight on lights.
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The 22 civil security planes are considered “sufficient in recent years”. This is what emerges from the declaration of the Head of State during his visit to the fires in Gironde. In reality, the 22 were only 13 to be operational at the start of the current fires. On the registers of the administration appear twelve Canadair CL-415. In fact, only 8 of these amphibians dropping 6,000 liters of water or retardant could fly at first. Two were in maintenance, victims of recurring breakdowns, the common lot of the operation of an aircraft. But two others, at the bottom of the hangar in Nîmes where the Civil Security is based, are undergoing an annual review and are immobilized. This is the result of a financial choice to smooth overhauls over the year, including during the fire season, whereas the previous public maintenance contract, admittedly less expensive, stipulated that 100% of the Canadair fleet should be available on the 15 June, before the fire season.
Remains the renewal of the fleet. If European orders are actually placed with Viking, the Canadian assembler who took over the license to build the Canadair from Bombardier, availability is not expected before 2026. This is the date on which some could be scrapped. French Canadair over the age of thirty who have reached the age limit. At best, the arrival of new planes will offset the departures.
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Aircraft in administrative reception
The 7 Dash announced are only 5. One is also experiencing recurring breakdowns and the seventh has just been received from Canada. No less than three weeks of formalities are necessary for the French administrations which seem to be unaware that the forest is burning… An eighth Dash is expected next year. Derived from a regional airliner, the Dashes carry 10,000 liters of liquid which can only be loaded from a pelicandrom, a filling area allowing the retardant to be dosed. Eight minutes are needed for refueling. Twenty-two airfields are equipped in France.
The 3 other aircraft in the Civil Security aircraft fleet are Beechcraft King 200s which are used for various liaisons and fire recognition, but do not transport liquid. Two helicopters are dedicated to missions in the difficult reliefs of Corsica.
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80 pilots and 30 administrative
Added to this is the availability of the crews. Twenty years ago, the unit’s strength numbered 90 pilots and 12 administrative staff. Today, full-time equivalents have increased, but for ground staff. There are only 80 pilots and 30 administrators left. Two positions are dedicated to regulatory monitoring, a purely civil aviation requirement that does not participate in firefighting. If the number of co-pilots is complete, it lacks 6 captains in Canadair and 5 in Dash, according to union sources. These latter aircraft, considered as multi-mission aircraft by the Ministry of the Interior, take part in convoys and deportations to the border (64 passengers and 9 tonnes of freight) which strain the potential of seafarers. A threat of strike allowed the pilots to obtain the regularization of salaries and mission expenses which were a year late…
The Vulcain mission of the 1980s, intended to reorganize and update the use of aerial resources for the benefit of French firefighters in matters of forest fires, was based on a triptych made up of Trackers capable of dropping 3,100 liters of retardant on the fire starts, Canadairs and Fokker 27 “jumbo jets” dropping 6,300 litres. Today, the first and the last have been replaced by the Dash, without fulfilling the same range of missions. “We must review the concept of prepositioning, which has now been abandoned, except in Corsica”, asks Pierre, “by using light aircraft capable of attacking emerging fires”. A common claim for pilots and firefighters.