Cali Fire Helos Test Remotely Activated Snorkel Sites

Firefighting helicopters in California are field testing new “remotely activated snorkel sites” that promise to reduce water refill times and make aerial firefighting more efficient. The 1,700-gallon tanks can be positioned more precisely where they are needed, closer to at-risk fire areas, and hooked up to municipal water sources. Pilots then can use a remote control system to fill the tanks that use a robot-controlled valve system. The system is currently being tested by the Orange County Fire Authority and Anaheim Fire & Rescue.

The technology is the brainchild of Los Angeles County Fire battalion chief Mark Whaling, who also owns a company called Whaling Fire Line Equipment of Canyon Country, California. Whaling said he got the idea while fighting the destructive Canyon 2 fire last year.

According to Whaling, the system saves time and manpower, since helicopters will no longer necessarily need to fly to reservoirs or other bodies of water to refill. Further, when they are refilling from ground tanks, those tanks will no longer need to be manually refilled by ground crews. Each snorkel site costs between $30,000 and $50,000 and their tanks can be installed either above or below ground.