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:
- Aerial Firefighting Europe 2025 (25-27 March 2025, Bordeaux, France)
- Aerial Firefighting Europe 2023 (16-17 October 2023, Athens, Greece)
- Aerial Firefighting Asia Pacific 2023 (02-03 August 2023, Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia)
- San Diego, California (21-23 March 2022)
- Nîmes, France (18-20 May 2022)
- Tallinn, Estonia (12-13 October 2021)
- Sacramento, USA (4-5 March 2020)
- Nimes, France (19-20 March 2019)
- Nimes, France (17-18 October 2017)
- Sacramento, USA (22-23 March 2016)
- Zadar, Croatia (29-30 April 2015)
- Sacramento, USA (19-20 March 2014)
- Aix-en-Provence, France (10-11 April 2013)
- Sacramento, USA (25-26 January 2012)
- Melbourne, Australia (25 August 2011)
- Washington, D.C., U.S.A. (25-26 May 2011)
- Malaga, Spain (2-3 December 2010)
- Vancouver, Canada (16-17 March 2010)
- Rome, Italy (5-6 November 2009)
- Anaheim, California (19-20 February 2009)
- Greece (21-22 October 2008)
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.
- ICAO Flying Forest Fire Fighting Dialogue 2021 (22 November 2021, Montreal, Canada; online)
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
- International Fire Aviation Working Group (IFAWG) website
- Introductory Paper to the Guidelines and the Manual
- Part I: Fire Aviation Guidelines (incorporating the International Manual of Common Rules for Fire Aviation) (Edition 1.0 for comment)
- Part II: International Fire Aviation Guidelines: International Manual of Common Rules for Fire Aviation (Draft – October 2017)
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)
- Study on wild fire fighting resources sharing models (European Commission, 2010) (PDF, 1.5MB)
- Study on Currently Available Aerial Forest Fire Fighting Assets Implementing Framework (European Commission, 2018) (Executive Summary)
Additional Key Publications on Aerial Firefighting (international)
- National Type I and Type II Exclusive Use Helicopter Operations Plan 2015 (U.S. Forest Service) (PDF, 0.2 MB)
- Large Airtanker Use and Outcomes in Suppressing Wildland Fires in the United States (David E. Calkin at al., 2014) (PDF, 0.3 MB)
- United States Government Accountability Office (2013): Improvements Needed in Information, Collaboration, and Planning to Enhance Federal Fire Aviation Program Success (PDF, 1.1 MB)
- Aerial Firefighting International Best Practice: Report of an Australian visit to France, Canada and USA, August – September 2006: FINDINGS and Recommendations (PDF, 1.4 MB)
- The Future of National Shared Resources (Special Issue of U.S. Forest Service “Fire Management” Volume 59, No. 1, 1999) (PDF, 0.5 MB)
Aerial Fire Magazine and News
The following websites / magazine / journals provide news on aerial firefighting from around the world:
- Aerial Fire News
- Fire Aviation
- Aerial Fire Magazine (weekly magazine, with option for subscribing and repository of all previous issues starting July 2019)
- Air Attack Magazine (KIA KAHA Media, new Zealand)
- AirMed & Rescue – example of April 2024: Technology and Teamwork: Approaches to Wildfire Management (PDF, 1.0 MB)