After the report of a forest fire reported in the rural area of the municipality of Purificaci贸n, in the department of Tolima, which has consumed about 400 hectares, the emergency call made to the Colombian Aerospace Force was assisted by air, through the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management, in coordination with the National Personnel Recovery Center so that conflagration could be neutralized.
For five hours, the crews of the Huey-II helicopter of the Air Combat Command No.4, spread 2,174 gallons of water mixed with 30 gallons of retardant liquid over the flames, thus supporting the ground work carried out by the community, the Fire Department, Civil Defense and Colombian National Army, with the support of both the Mayor's Office of this municipality, and the company HOCOL.
Due to the difficulty of accessing this area by land, the Bambi Bucket system was used, which suspended of the helicopter in flight, has the capacity to store and transport large volumes of water from nearby water sources, to the points hit by the fire. In this case, the flames that spread quickly, damaged the vegetation of several nearby villages, including: San Antonio, Tres Mesetas, San Jos茅 Arenales and Mata Diamante.
The constant training of the Colombian Aerospace Force personnel to deal with this type of environmental emergencies demonstrates the commitment to the protection of human life and specimens, thanks to collaboration with other agencies responsible for risk and disaster management, for the benefit of the environment.
The work will continue until the fires are over.
Source: Public Communication Office CACOM 4
