Certification of the Air Zermatt firefighting courses
When fighting fires in impassable terrain, the use of helicopters is an efficient means. Air Zermatt trains fire brigades from all over Switzerland and abroad accordingly. As the first helicopter company in Switzerland, the helicopter courses for fire brigades have now been certified by the Fire Service Coordination Switzerland (FKS).
For more than a decade, Air Zermatt has been offering comprehensive basic and advanced training courses for firefighters in the use of helicopters. More than a thousand firefighters from all over Switzerland and neighbouring countries have already benefited from this offer. The courses are led by experienced flight assistants, dedicated firefighters and competent instructors who guide the participants expertly through the training programme. The basic course prepares the firefighters for their missions with helicopters in a safety-relevant manner. In addition, they are taught about various deployment options and the loading of material in and on the helicopter. In addition to the basic course, Air Zermatt offers two further training courses. These serve to deepen the specialist knowledge and expand the possibilities for fire brigade operations with helicopters.
The Fire Service Coordination Switzerland FKS has now certified the Air Zermatt courses. The FKS acts as a central point of contact for all national matters relating to the fire service. The high quality and comprehensive programme of the firefighting courses prompted the FKS to certify the courses.
Decades of experience in fire fighting
In recent years, Air Zermatt has repeatedly fought forest or wildland fires in cooperation with fire brigades. It is only through this good cooperation that such fires can be extinguished quickly. In addition, Air Zermatt has developed a new, patented extinguishing tank in recent years. With the pneumatic aluminium extinguishing tank, one tonne of extinguishing water can be dropped directly over the source of the fire in only three seconds and thus reaches the source of the fire in a concentrated manner.
The new extinguishing tank not only impresses with its unique extinguishing effect, but also offers the practical option of filling it directly with fire hoses. This eliminates the need for natural or specially installed water supply points, for example lakes or fire water basins. The water supply point can thus be set up at a hydrant in the immediate vicinity of the incident, ensuring maximum efficiency.
Air Zermatt's helicopter courses for fire brigades were the first helicopter company in Switzerland to be certified by the Feuerwehr Koordination Schweiz FKS.
Gerold Biner, CEO and pilot of Air Zermatt, Hans Gerber, Feuerwehr Koordination Schweiz, and Patrick Steffen, Fire Service Commander Zermatt, at the certificate presentation.
The Air Zermatt extinguishing tank can be filled with extinguishing water within a few seconds using fire hoses.