With a 'difficult' fire season ahead, emergency services are calling for aerial firefighting capabil
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The head of Australia's largest fire service says the country needs a national aerial firefighting fleet. NSW Rural Fire Service commissioner Rob Rogers was speaking as the organization battles the first catastrophic fire conditions of this bushfire season. The Rural Fire Service's 737 large air tanker is the only large Australian fire aircraft, with other aircraft leased from overseas. "New South Wales has certainly invested, a big air tanker, we've got a Chinook helicopter, six other aircraft like helicopters. So the government has invested quite heavily in that, but I think what needs to be done is to look at it from a national perspective as well." “I think we have a long way to go on this,” Mr. Rogers said. "The federal government has a large dedicated air tanker contract. You can't always predict it's going to happen from the first of October to the end of February. Overseas planes are no longer enough Most of the large firefighting aircraft used in Australia are leased from overseas and there are concerns that they will become increasingly unavailable due to demand in Europe and North America. Former NSW fire commissioner Greg Mullins said the lack of a national fleet was a problem. Bringing in pilots from abroad can help, but that's becoming more and more of a problem." "Because of climate change, our fire seasons now overlap with the northern hemisphere. So in the past, California burn, Canada burn, their fires stop, they go into the fall and winter months. And the planes they used would run out. There we could rent them in the southern hemisphere." “But their fire seasons have become months longer, our fire seasons have become months longer, and when we need these large firefighting assets, sometimes they just aren't available and they don't release them.” Greg Mullins says fire season stretches on for months. Brendan Moon, general coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency, said a national fleet is being considered. "As noted in the royal commission, there has been a need for further conversation about whether we need a sovereign national air fleet. Research is already underway to begin to articulate what that actually looks like." 'We are planning for a difficult fire season' Rob Rogers, from NSW RFS, said he was a bit concerned about the extreme heat experienced in northern hemisphere in recent months. "So you have to look and say, 'Well, is this what's in store? And I think that, coupled with how dry the landscape is right now and the fact that we've had a record dry temperature... we're definitely planning for a difficult fire season.' “May, June and July were the driest period for New South Wales in 85 years, so it is frankly quite surprising to see almost no rain fall from the incredibly wet conditions we experienced. It's like someone turned off the tap." Brendan Moon says grass overgrowth is a risk that should be taken seriously. Mr Moon said the growth of grass across the country after three years of rain was wor