ALISO VIEJO, Calif. – Firefighters in Orange County now have a second state-of-the-art apparatus to help them fight wildfires from the sky.
The Tivoli HeloPod, a permanent station where helicopters can quickly and easily refill their water supply before heading back out to battle a fire, was officially unveiled on Monday in Aliso Viejo.
According to the California Office of Planning and Research, the HeloPod is considered “important for public safety” because it provides fire crews with a quick turnaround location to fill the choppers.
“The goal of the project is to increase public safety by providing a more consistent water source close to wildland areas,” the Office of Planning and Research’s Environment Quality Act stated.
HeloPod advertises itself as the first intact pre-positioned tactical high-capacity helicopter dip source. The Pump-Pod USA website (Pump-Pod USA manufactures the HeloPods) states that HeloPods are transportable, intact, and ready to fill in five minutes after being lowered to the ground.
“When connected to a municipal water source, the HeloPod, when fitted with the optional auto-fill valve, refills itself simultaneously once a helicopter starts to remove water,” the HeloPod’s description read. “When connected to a hydrant, the tank capacity becomes secondary as it is the refresh rate – not the tank capacity – that is important.”
In a press release, the Orange County Fire Authority emphasized that the new technology will provide essential water replenishment services for firefighting helicopters across the county. The addition to the firefighting arsenal comes in response to “what is now a year-round wildfire season” and will help the agency maintain its goal of keeping all wildfires across the county at 10 acres or less 95% of the time.
At Monday’s media conference, the helicopters demonstrated what picking up a HeloPod looks like and what the water dispersion process would entail.
OCFA Chief Brian Fennessy stated that the most effective firefighting tactic is immediate and overwhelming suppression of the blaze on initial attack, something that will be made easier with the new water technology.
“It’s really simple…it means a high volume of water dropped with strategic precision and tremendous speed before the fire has a chance to run,” Fennessy said.
The HeloPod in Aliso Viejo is the second such structure in Orange County; the other one is in San Juan Capistrano.
Link to article: Orange County unveils new aerial firefighting weapon | KTLA