(gentle music)
(fire crackling)
- [Narrator] Helispot manager can be a challenging role
on a fire.
The position used to have a task book
and be a red card qualification.
Due to staffing availability,
these duties were ultimately rolled into
the helicopter crew member task book.
Helispot operations are also becoming less common
due to many factors, such as increasing road access
and indirect firefighting tactics.
This poses a challenge as there is less and less opportunity
for firefighters to gain consistent on the job experience.
This module we'll cover the important duties
and considerations for establishing
and managing a helispot.
A crucial role in wildland firefighting.
- When considering Helispot location
there's a number of factors to consider.
And a lot of them are situationally dependent,
but there are a few that will apply regardless of the
situation or location.
The best place to find those are the IRPG
in the blue section.
There's some great aviation related material there
and I use it even with 20 plus years to refer to.
We've got a lot of guides, a lot of checklists
and fire and aviation and we can't retain it all.
But if you know where to go to look to find information,
that'll really help you out.
So, the first question I ask is what type of helicopters are
you anticipating using at helispot?
Is it type one, type two, type three?
Because they will have different factors depending
on what aircraft is using it.
So, for a type one, you're gonna want a safety circle
of 110 feet and a touchdown pad of 30 by 30.
For type twos, your 205s, your 212s.
Kind of the backbone of our federal fleets.
You're looking at a 90 foot safety circle and a 20 by 20
touchdown pad.
Type threes, 407s, A-Stars, helicopters like that.
75 foot safety circle and a 15 by 15 touchdown pad.
So, in addition to the actual helispot,
you also want to look at approach and departure.
Two way's ideal, meaning the helicopter can come in
from one direction and leave the opposite direction.
The reason for this is helicopters take off and land into
the wind.
(helicopter whirls)
We do use one way helispots,
but if we can achieve a two way helispot,
then that's definitely preferable.
(helicopter whirls)
Some other things to consider. You want a flat, clear area.
You don't want it excessively rocky.
You don't want a lot of brush.
A lot of stumps, things that can get caught on skid
or wheel, if you have a wheeled aircraft.
So, you want it flat and you want it clear.
Another big consideration is dust abatement.
Do you have natural ground cover grass
that'll keep dust down, or is it bare earth
where you are gonna get a lot of dust?
And if you do need dust abatement, how viable is that?
Is there a pump that you can set up nearby?
Is there a road where you can get a water tender to support
that dust abatement?
And if there's a road,
should it even be a helispot? Can you drive there?
Maybe, maybe not.
Maybe the road's more dangerous in the aviation exposure to
fly in and out.
But there are a number of things to consider for helispots
with the ultimate goal of being safe, effective operations.
You also want to consider having the items that you need
at the helispot.
You need a wind indicator, crashed rescue,
fire extinguisher, pad marker.
So, do you have those items?
And if you don't, can you get them relatively quickly?
And another question that I always ask myself
in helispot location and considerations
is expected duration.
Is it gonna be a one-time use
and then we're never gonna use it again,
or is it likely to be used day in and day out
for cruise shuttles?
That'll also help me determine my location.
Some other things to consider that aren't in the IRPG
when selecting helispot location,
are things like coordinating with your line supervisor.
Whether it's a division operations, IC,
and kind of have an idea of strategy and tactics.
You want that helispot location to remain viable tomorrow
and maybe next week.
If you have a helispot and it's not going to get used
due to plans changing, strategies or tactics changing,
or just fire perimeter growth,
you need to have the ability to anticipate that
and try to select locations that will remain usable.
So, you're not having to identify and establish
new helispots daily.
Some areas that I like to avoid.
Excessively dusty areas or areas that are in the black.
From the fire operation standpoint,
the black is the safest spot, but for aviation
that creates a hazard.
You have brownout conditions and the pilots lose visibility
as they're taking off and landing.
And again, if you have the dust abatement
you might be able to make that work.
It's just something to evaluate.
Other areas I'd like to avoid are congested areas.
Areas near public access points.
Near camps, whether it's a spike camp, base camp,
ICP, or even residential areas
where you're gonna have a lot of public.
Another common challenge in selecting helispot location
and getting approval is confusion on naming conventions
and lat and lon formats.
So, typically on our incidents
the aircraft will prefer degrees decimal minutes.
That's what works for them versus degrees minutes seconds.
Another challenge sometimes is evolving plans
and shifting priorities.
A lot of times that's unavoidable.
It's based on fire behavior and resource availability
that dictate strategy and tactics.
Then you just need to be flexible and realize
that as the fire grows needs are going to change,
priorities are going to shift.
Is it still the best plan?
Are we using the right tool for the job?
Communication is very critical
when you're staffing helispot.
The bottom line to remember is that you do need
to communicate with your line supervisor,
whoever that might be.
And the reason for this is accountability and safety.
As a division or helibase manager,
it's important to know who's assigned to you
and where they're at, for safety reasons.
If plans change, if missions change,
if fire activity increases or picks up,
it's important that people know where you are
and that they're able to communicate with you.
On a slow helispot, it's easy to become complacent.
You need to be aware of this and stay engaged.
As I said earlier,
you are part of a tactical mission out there
and you need to stay up to date
on what's going on with the fire.
You need to be scanning the appropriate channels.
When you're staffing a helispot,
it's good to establish and maintain radio communication
right from the start.
Have an IEP, have extra batteries, do a comms check.
One thing to be aware of that's pretty common
is communicating via text or phone calls.
And a lot of times you'll see this,
somebody on helispot communicating
with their crew supervisor,
not necessarily their line supervisor or helibase manager.
So, be aware if it's communication that needs to be over the
radio because it's tactical in nature and other people need
to be aware.
Don't do that over text or over a phone call
and be aware of communicating only with your crew
supervisor.
If you're working for the helibase manager or division,
communicate with them.
Several times in my career,
I've experienced helispots that were really busy
and exceeded my span of control.
And the thing to remember,
like a lot of our fire and aviation positions,
when you're staffing and managing helispot,
that is your responsibility to manage
and do the best you can until somebody with more experience
or higher qualifications comes and takes it from you.
When I found myself in the position of staffing and managing
helispot that was exceeding my span of control.
I relied on other helicopter crew members to help.
You might get them off other crews at the helibase,
or you might have them on the crews that you're shuttling in
or out.
One important key is that a helispot manager
is no longer a position.
Helicopter crew members take on that responsibility
and fill that role.
So, it's good to rely on your more experienced HECMs
and it can be more of a leadership position
than people expect.
And so the key is to delegate, to use the folks
that are available to you and put them to work.
If you're feeling overwhelmed when managing the helispot,
there are a few things that could help.
And one of those is anticipating and trying to plan ahead.
Now that's not always possible.
Fire and aviation as you all know is dynamic
and plans continually change.
But to the extent possible,
if you can anticipate those changes and plan ahead,
you'll set yourself up for success.
Now, one key thing to remember is to expect curve balls.
Things will change. You can have a great plan,
but expect a helicopter to be reassigned.
Expect the helicopter to be down for maintenance.
Expect the helicopter to be reprioritized due to fire
activity.
So, the loads you had built for a 205 at the last second,
you might find out that you're gonna be using a 407
and an A-Star.
The key to remember is to not get frustrated,
just expect those changes, work with them
and rely on your training and safety fundamentals.
LCES is critical on helispots.
We don't often think of helicopter operations as logistical,
but when you're staffing helispot, and managing helispot,
it is tactical.
You're on the fire line
and you need to have and maintain LCES.
Perhaps communication out of that is the most critical key.
That spotty communication or difficult to hit a repeater.
It's difficult to communicate with your division operations
or whoever you're working for.
Another common area of confusion is intended use for a
helispot.
We hear the terms helispot, medevac site, sling site.
So to me, if the helicopter is going to land there
and you're gonna put it on a map
or have even in the back of your mind
as a plan, that helicopter could get in there,
it's a helispot.
So in my mind, either it's a helispot
or it's not a helispot.
Either helicopters can get in, or it cannot.
So, a sling spot is a sling spot.
That's external cargo coming in.
When we hear the term medevac site,
as being a site we'll only use if needed,
but the fact is if you're using that,
a helicopter is going to come in and land.
So, it's a helispot.
So again, refer to the safety specs that we covered earlier,
that you can find an IRPG and make it a helispot.
If you are concerned that things might be unsafe
or progressing to the point where there'll be unsafe
imminently, it's important to speak up and get feedback.
Ask the pilots as they're coming in
if they're aware of hazards, or if the winds are picking up,
what is their comfort level?
If you do feel that things are unsafe, you need to speak up.
If you see something, say something.
Don't assume that pilots are aware of hazards.
There's things that you can meet up to recommend a better
plan for tomorrow if you're doing the same thing.
Communicate that to your supervisor.
Maybe the helibase manager.
We've all heard the expression that slow is smooth
and smooth is fast and that really applies to aviation
and when you're managing helispot.
If you do feel that sense of pressure and urgency,
it's important to not cut corners, maintain your LCES,
take the time to continue doing safety circles
on your aircraft before they depart.
Make sure there's not a seat belt hanging out the door.
Make sure that the doors are latched.
So, you might feel that sense of pressure,
but it's still important to do things smoothly and safely.
- [Narrator] Whether you are managing a helispot
or constructing one,
keep this module in mind and be sure to reference the IRPG
for some helpful reminders
on how to successfully perform these duties.