Coulson’s 737 FireLiner operates from the RAAF Base Richmond in western Sydney. Photo: Coulson Aviation.
The New South Wales Government has given Canadian company Coulson Aviation a 10-year extension to its contract to provide aerial firefighting services in the state.
The $400 million contract is an extension of the company’s previous five-year deal and will see Coulson provide a fleet of 11 aircraft in NSW and manage, operate and maintain that fleet.
The fleet includes a 737 FireLiner Large Airtanker (LAT), two Cessna Citation spotter aircraft, six Bell B412 helicopters, a CH-47 Chinook helicopter, and a Beechcraft Super King Air transport. The company says it will employ primarily Australian crews, which it says will enhance NSW’s self-sufficiency and reduce reliance on international personnel.
It says that, in coordination with the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS), Coulson will conduct training and equipment inspections as a proactive measure to reduce the impact of bushfires and safeguard communities.
During the 2022-23 bushfire season, RFS aircraft managed by Coulson Aviation completed more than 340 missions and rescued 113 people. The RFS’s 737 ‘’Marie Bashir’’ was deployed 41 times, dropping more than 600,000 litres of retardant. The fleet also supported other emergency services such as flood rescues.
The contract will also include an expansion of the company’s apprenticeship program to develop the next generation of aviation personnel in NSW, including a minimum of two mechanical apprentices who will be part of the aviation team, giving them hands-on experience with firefighting aircraft.
Coulson recently became the first aviation firm authorised by Transport Canada as an approved training organisation (ATO), allowing the company to train technician candidates who can earn while they learn.
The company says it plans to expand this model into NSW, attracting new technicians and training them specifically for the utility aviation environment and to continually develop a well-trained workforce. Additionally, collaboration with local schools will further grow and sustain this initiative.
NSW Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib said the NSW RFS was at the forefront of aerial firefighting innovation and response, and that its fleet played a pivotal role in firefighting efforts in NSW and across Australia.
“We are now looking to the future and working on making our local fleet and aviation teams even more self-sufficient, with fire seasons expected to become more challenging as the climate changes,” Mr Dib said.
“Meanwhile, the RFS aviation teams will continue to support other emergency response efforts, such as flood rescue and reconnaissance.
“It is important that we continue to grow the skills and experience of the local workforce, and the expansion of apprenticeships with the aviation crew will help build the next generation of firefighting aviation personnel.”
NSW RFS Commissioner Rob Rogers said the RFS aviation fleet had grown in recent years to better respond and support firefighting and emergency operations across NSW, interstate and internationally.
“In support of ground crews, aviation assets are a vital tool to help stop or slow a fire’s run and protect lives and property,” he said.
“The RFS has found a reliable and high-performing partner in Coulson Aviation, and we look forward to working with them as our aerial capability continues to expand.”
Coulson Group CEO Wayne Coulson said he was pleased to have been chosen as the sole aviation supplier to operate the NSW Rural Fire Service-owned fleet of firefighting and emergency services aircraft.
“Coulson Aviation Australia has been the leading supplier of Large Air Tankers and Very Large Heli-Tankers to the Australian governments for the past decade, and it’s an honour to have been selected again, to continue to run RFS’s world-class fleet.”
