The parachute fire service of the Unified Forest Fire Center (EFC) has completed preparations for the forest fire season, the press center of the government of the Arkhangelsk region reported on April 14.
“Each paratrooper, under the supervision of instructors, had to make at least 12 parachute jumps from an An-2 aircraft and at least 5 descents from a Mi-8 helicopter. In addition, theoretical and practical tasks and an exam are provided, after which PDPS employees can work. All members of the parachute fire service are trained and ready to perform tasks. Currently our staff of permanent employees is complete. By April 17, a temporary workforce of 221 people will have been formed.”– said the director of the Unified Forest Fire Center Sergei Ivantsov.
The total grouping of forest fire extinguishing forces and means is 2.9 thousand people and in the regions of the region 157 points have also been formed for the concentration of fire fighting equipment. 50 parachute firefighters, 2 observer pilots and 140 units of special equipment, if necessary, can be quickly deployed to any region of the country. Last year, Arkhangelsk firefighters helped fight fires in seven regions, from Komi to Yakutia.
The fire season in Pomeranian forests usually begins at the end of April or beginning of May and ends in the second decade of September.
Let us remind you that there are parachute firefighters only in three countries in the world: the United States, Canada and Russia.
Fire extinguishing by air assault in the USSR was proposed by Georgy Aleksandrovich Mokeev, who for more than 10 years supervised all forest extinguishing work in the USSR. On June 19, 1936, he made the first jump to the source of a forest fire in the Gorky region together with the instructor IZ. After disembarking, they mobilized the population of several villages to put out the fire.
In 1958 the Avialesookhrana institution was created.
In 2017, the strength of the Avialesookhrana parachute fire service was 725 people. Typically, an airborne firefighting team consists of 6 firefighting paratroopers and may be part of a 12-person airborne firefighting team led by an instructor.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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