4 joulu 2019

Babcock España closes a successful 2019 firefighting season

The summer months saw Babcock España fight over 600 fires, responding to fire emergencies across an area four times larger than last year. The team used its fleet of 57 helicopters and 2 planes including, for the first time, a SuperPuma helicopter which had been adapted by our Design and Completions team for use in firefighting operations.

Our biggest missions of the year included the Gran Canaria and Sierra de Gredos (Castilla y León) fires that hit headlines in August. Covering an area of roughly 9,000 hectares and forcing approximately 10,000 people to evacuate their homes, the Gran Canaria fires were particularly fierce, earning the nickname of ‘fire storms’. Our teams worked tirelessly alongside ground firefighting teams to extinguish these fires as quickly as possible to reduce the devastating effects these fires had on their communities.

The success of the season did not happen by chance. Good preparation of the fleet, a comprehensive and exhaustive maintenance schedule throughout the season, excellent training and practice of the firefighting teams, and the dedication of all 200 staff members made it possible to accomplish these complex operations as smoothly, efficiently and safely.