AERIAL FIREFIGHTING CONFERENCES CO-ORGANIZED WITH GFMC

International Aerial Firefighting International Conferences and Exhibitions

Since 1980

Since 2008 the GFMC has supported the organization of the Aerial Firefighting Conferences with the aim to create a platform of dialogue and exchange between the authorities and civil society actors concerned in landscape fire management – representing both the ground and aerial community of practitioners and entrepreneurs as well as the scientific community. The GFMC repository includes the key outcomes of the conferences:

International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Flying Forest Fire Fighting (I4F) Dialogue

The ICAO Flying Forest Fire Fighting (I4F) Dialogue aims at exchanging the information on existing activities, technologies and arrangements and facilitating the cooperation on aviation forest fire fighting activities among States and other relevant stakeholders, by sharing knowledge, experience and resources as well as by discussing possible areas of improvements and cooperation under the auspices of ICAO. The preparation of the I4F Dialogue was supported by the UNEP / OCHA Joint Environment Unit (JEU), the Global Fire Monitoring Center (GFMC) and the International Fire Aviation Working Group (IFAWG). JEU and GFMC are cooperating in international response to wildfire emergencies.

International Fire Aviation Working Group (IFAWG)

The International Fire Aviation Working Group (IFAWG) comprises an international group of aerial fire management specialists who lead and manage the use of aircraft for wildland fire management around the world. This group is made up of representatives from countries and jurisdictions who regularly utilize aerial means in managing landscape fire, including for firefighting. The IFAWG operates as a Working Group of the Wildland Fire Advisory Group (WFAG) of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR). The group aims to improve the safety and effectiveness of aerial means by sharing information, experience and resources.

IFAWG joined the preparation, organization and follow-up of the UNECE/FAO Regional Forum on Cross-boundary Fire Management (UN Geneva, 2013) and contributed with the international consent-based Fire Aviation Guidelines. In 2014 an Introductory Paper has been published by IFAWG. Starting in December 2014 Draft Part I of the International Fire Aviation Guidelines (incorporating the International Manual of Common Rules for Fire Aviation) are available for screening and comments (see left for download). Please send your comments to the IFAWG Secretariat. Part II of the Fire Aviation Guidelines: The International Manual of Common Rules for Fire Aviation has been drafted and published in October 2017 for review and comments

GFMC Support of AFF Conferences and Events in Germany In the aftermath of the extended forest fire of 1975 in Lower Saxony State, Germany, a new concept of aerial firefighting was developed. A few events are highlighted below. More details on a concept, which finally could not be realized, are available in the GFMC library (Freiburg, Germany, and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia) as well as in the Institute for Fire and Disaster Management in Heyrothsberge (Institut für Brand- und Katastrophenschutz Heyrothsberge), a partner of GFMC. A few snapshots:

Proceedings of the International Scientific-Technical Symposium of the German Federal Ministry for Research and Technology, held with international participation and contributions in 1980 in Hannover (Germany). Source: Bundesministerium für Forschung und Technologie (ed.). 1981. Brand- und Katastrophenbekämpfung aus der Luft. Int. Wiss. Tech. Symp. Hannover 1980. Bernecker-Verlag Melsungen, 242 p. (ISBN 3-88 135-093-4)

Proceedings of the Second International Scientific-Technical Symposium of the German Federal Ministry for Research and Technology, held with international participation and contributions in 1984 in Bremen Hannover (Germany). Source: Bundesministerium für Forschung und Technologie (ed.). 1984. Fortschritte bei der Brand- und Katstrophenbekämpfung aus der Luft. 2. Int. Wiss. Techn. Symp., Bremen 1984. Deutscher Gemeindeverlag Kohlhammer, Köln, 310 p. (ISBN 3-555-00506-5).

Additional Resources of the 1970s and 1980s

  • Goldammer, J.G. 1978. Zur Entwicklung von Systemen der Waldbrandbekämpfung aus der Luft. Allgemeine Forst Zeitschrift 33, 795-796.
  • Goldammer, J.G. 1982. Zur Entwicklung der Waldbrandsituation in Europa und in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Allgemeine Forst Zeitschrift 36, 1074-1076.
  • Goldammer, J.G. 1982. Development of airborne forest fire fighting equipment in the Federal Republic of Germany. In: Forest Fire prevention and control (United Nations, ed.), 153-158. Nijhoff and Junk Publ., The Hague, 230 p.

Presentation of the “Global Supertanker” in Germany 2009 (Hahn Airport) by GFMC

Additional Resources (international, developed with GFMC support)

Additional Key Publications on Aerial Firefighting (international)

Aerial Fire Magazine and News

The Aerial Fire Magazine provides daily and weekly news from and around the world of aerial firefighting.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
/by
WP-Backgrounds Lite by InoPlugs Web Design and Juwelier Schönmann 1010 Wien