The London fire service has been conducting an extensive trial in the use of helicopter air support.

Brian Walters/LONDON

EVERY WORKING DAY, about 2.5 million motor vehicles enter London, resulting in acute traffic jams at peak hours. In those conditions, it is hard for emergency services to reach an accident.

Assistant chief fire officer David Cartwright recalls that the 1988 rail crash at Clapham Junction, in south-west London, occurred at about 08.30. Nearby streets (always busy at that time of day), were soon grid-locked and as a result, the London Fire Brigade (LFB) had a serious problem bringing heavy-lifting and cutting gear to the site, which is one reason why Cartwright was subsequently, asked to investigate the merits of using a "flying fire-truck" to help carry equipment to major incidents.

The Clapham disaster is not the only reason for the recent trials, which may prove the feasibility of an airborne solution to traffic gridlock. "The first half-hour after any such incident is vital for survivability," says Cartwright.

Initially, Cartwright was far from convinced of the viability of forming an air unit, or even of the need for a trial. The strong convictions held by David Lewis, McAlpine Helicopter's marketing director in the UK, however, began to convince the LFB that at least a trial could be worthwhile. As it is the UK distributor for Eurocopter, Lewis' company might be expected to praise the virtues of a helicopter for any public-service role, and it has long taken a "hands-on" interest in tailoring helicopters for specific needs.

Week-long trials of a Eurocopter BK.117B1 demonstrator with the Strathclyde and West Sussex Fire Brigades had produced promising results, but Lewis was convinced that a BK.117C1, powered by two Turbomeca Arriel 1E2s would be better suited to the job than the lower-powered B1. Accordingly, McAlpine pushed the helicopter through UK Civil Aviation Authority certification on behalf of Eurocopter after the BK.117C1 was re-confirmed as the best candidate for the LFB trials.

Cartwright commissioned a neutral review from Geoff Holder, an independent consultant with the Linton Group. Holder considered the objectives and the medium-size helicopters, which might be able to undertake the LFB trial, concluding that, in addition to the BK.117, the Agusta A.109 and Eurocopter Dauphin could also meet the requirements. The size of its cabin dimensions and payload capacity confirmed the original selection, however.

Nevertheless, more preparation had to be undertaken before the trial could begin. Cartwright was helped by the Home Office and the CAA, as well as by other public-service helicopter operators.

As safety has been a prime concern from the outset, however, a 10min training video, Oscar Two Zero X-ray, was made available to all 7,000 LFB firemen and women before the trial began. The video raised awareness of the trial, provided the reasons behind it and offered advice on how to avoid injury when working near a helicopter.

The enhanced performance of the C1 soon became apparent when trials began with a helicopter based at the Hayes, Middlesex, centre for Operational Support Services (a McAlpine subsidiary) located close to one of six fire-rescue units placed strategically around London. Equipment and crews trained in operating with the helicopter are taken to incidents as required, and the C1 has been loaded and airborne in less than 3min.

The helicopter has already proved to be a lifesaver, speeding cutting gear to one road traffic accident on the M25 motorway. It can carry up to nine firefighters, in addition to the pilot and observer, or four firefighters and 500kg of equipment.

In the UK this summer, fires have been brought under control by use of the externally slung, 600litre Spegel Semat "F" water bucket.

If the recently concluded six-week long daylight trials are judged to have been a success, night trials are planned to follow and, although it has been a long and complex procedure, the complete trial could well bring about a new way of dealing with fire and accident emergencies.

Source: Flight International