DNRC holds helicopter training for volunteers

PLAINS – The Department of Natural Resources and Conservation held a helicopter training session for Sanders County’s volunteer firefighters on Saturday, allowing the volunteers hands on experience with the helicopters.

Aviation Operations Supervisor, Jesse Best, started off by giving the volunteers a rundown of the material that would be covered.

“Today we’re here for you guys,” said Best explaining that the presentation will be low key and questions will be answered along the way.

Crewmember Dylan Kopitzke gave the initial presentation, outlining to the volunteers the different tools the helicopter utilizes as well as a quick safety presentation on what to do in a crash situation. He explained the different precautions that should be taken place when in or around the helicopter.

Pilot Don Sneck then took over explaining what he would need if the volunteers had to help assist him in fighting a fire. He explained how to direct the aircraft using different degrees of the clock to avoid confusion when in the air. Sneck explained the nose of the aircraft is 12 o’clock while the left side is 9 o’clock, the backside is 6 o’clock and the right side is 3 o’clock.

Sneck explained the best way to communicate to any pilot while directing them in the air is to use simple English, keeping everything as straightforward as possible. If the pilot is unable to locate a crewmember on the ground, Sneck explained the flash of mirror is an easy thing for them to spot and will help them zone in on the location of the crew on ground.

“Usually the mirror works best because if you can hit him with a mirror flash he can come point to point right at you and you can feed him information on his way to you of where his drops going to be. That way it’s a whole lot more efficient,” explained Assistant Aviation Operations Supervisor Kevin Devine. From that point Devine explained the person communicating with the pilot can inform him of what kind of water drop they will need, whether it be a line drop or a spot drop.

Sneck stated the helicopter will never stop completely in a high hover while fighting a fire so although they are able to drop most of the water in one spot if a spot drop is ordered, there will be some movement to the falling water.

The height and speed of the helicopter allows the pilot to control how the water will drop, whether it will be dropped onto a wider area or a longer stretch, adapting the drop technique to what the fire is doing.

“You want to be real precise and tell Don what you want but you don’t want to drive him,” explained Best. “He’s going to decide which way he is going to come into the wind and how he’s going to line up. The more precise and the better you can communicate to him what you want, the better he can set up for that.”

Devine also explained another responsibility of the crews on the ground is to ensure that no one is in the drop area to avoid anyone from being hit with the bucket of falling water.

Sneck stressed if the volunteers knew of any hazards such as power lines in the area to let him know. Sneck said power lines are almost invisible from the aircraft and knowing the potential hazards in the area can help keep everyone safer.

The volunteers present were educated on how the bucket works, the different ways it can be attached to the helicopter and the different amounts of water each bucket is able to drop.

After the presentation was over, those volunteers interested were able to get on the radio and communicate with Sneck on different water drops to get hands-on experience of directing the aircraft. Four volunteers took to the radio, guiding Sneck to different areas they wanted the water dropped.

Sneck collected the water from the Clark Fork River and dumped it according to the directions he received.

Once that was over, the volunteers were briefed and taken up into the helicopter for a ride. As the helicopter circled Plains in a 20-minute flight, breathtaking views could be seen from the doors, which were left wide open. Three different trips were made into the sky, allowing each person interested in a helicopter ride a chance to get a ride.

Once the training was complete, each volunteer received a certification of completion in the DNRC helicopter training course, which could count for some of the mandatory training hours each volunteer has to complete.

Best explained the Northwestern division of the DNRC provides two of these trainings a year, rotating to the four counties within their fire protection area. This year the training took place in Sanders and Lincoln Counties.