Analysis: County’s $2.4 million firefighting helicopter rarely used
Opposing the measure, then-County Judge
"The wildfires of last year certainly were an eye-opening experience," Biscoe said. "I'm 65 years old, and it's the first time I've ever seen something like it. So, I'm sitting here wondering whether it'll be another 64 more years before we see the next one."
Almost two years later, county officials say the purchase was worthwhile, although the helicopter has been used to fight fires only a handful of times.
The retrofitted
Eighty-three flights were for training, maintenance or operations; six were for public-relations events; and one was a rescue mission during the 2013
During the same period, the county's three other helicopters, which primarily provide medical transport in partnership with local hospitals, each went on more than 600 emergency missions. Together, they responded to more firefighting calls _ 14 _ than the firefighting helicopter did, in part because of complications with staffing the Huey.
"I don't know that we necessarily had any expectations for what (flight) volume would look like," Ping said. "If you want to have it when you need it, then the only way you can confirm that is to own it."
The 2011 fire season will forever be remembered for the 34,000-acre blaze in
The effort to stop the
During the 2012 debate over the helicopter purchase, Commissioner
"If the taxes have to go up just a little to pay for that assured comfort level _ that you can go to sleep at night knowing somebody would come there for me from the ground or in the air _ I can sleep on that," Davis said.
Biscoe in 2012 was joined in questioning the purchase by then-Commissioner
"We are walking backwards into a fire mission that we don't currently have," Eckhardt said. "This is a pretty significant expansion of the STAR Flight mission, without assistance from the state and without assistance from the emergency service districts and without assistance from the other municipalities."
Eckhardt said last week that she was "satisfied that they are attempting to respond to the concerns I had."
"It does appear that the Huey has been used to good effect in its first year," she said. She pointed to its vital role in responding to the 2013
One concern Eckhardt had in 2012 was about whether the county could develop cost-sharing or reimbursement agreements with neighboring jurisdictions that the Huey may be dispatched to. On medical runs, STAR Flight recoups costs from the patients or their insurance policies _ a revenue stream that usually pays for more than half of STAR Flight's
The county does, however, have an agreement that allows state agencies to reimburse it when borrowing the chopper on an as-needed basis to respond to emergencies outside
To keep costs down, STAR Flight absorbed the operating expenses for the new chopper within its budget and did not hire any employees because of the purchase, which is one reason the Huey flies so rarely.
Unlike the medical helicopters, which are stationed at
Three of the firefighting missions the Huey went on were in
The six public-relations missions included demonstrations and appearances at the America's Heroes Airshow at
The main use of a firefighting helicopter is not to put out fires _ which usually requires ground crews _ but to keep a blaze contained in its critical early stages, said
Another benefit, he said, is to have an eye in the sky quarterbacking the ground attack on fires that can be unpredictable and difficult to judge.
"When it is needed _ you have a wildfire threatening lives and properties _ it's right there. It can deal with a wildfire, keep it small, keep it safe," Fisher said. "All in all, we're very glad that they have that asset and we're proud that we can be a recipient of it when we need it."
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