French Firefighters Deploy Water Scooping Planes Near Paris

Firefighters near Paris are battling a large forest fire in Fontainebleau and are now using two Canadair 415 amphibious aircraft to draw water directly from the Seine river. The planes, typically stationed on the Mediterranean coast and Corsica, are uniquely equipped to skim the water’s surface while maintaining a speed of approximately 130 kilometers per hour to quickly fill their tanks.

These specialized aircraft are rare. Bombardier of Canada is currently the only Western manufacturer, and have been built intermittently since the late 1960s.

Viking Air previously built the planes until approximately five years ago, and De Havilland Aircraft of Canada plans to resume production of a modernized version, the Canadair 515, around 2030. Each aircraft can carry around 6000 liters of water, and the process of refilling takes only 12 to 14 seconds, but requires careful piloting to avoid debris in the river. The deployment of these planes represents a new tactic for fighting fires so close to the French capital.