Picture Story: Airborne Fire-Fighters

Iceland has no armed forces, but the nation’s coast guard often steps into the gap to undertake certain specialist tasks. One of those is fighting fires from a helicopter using a large container—known as a “bambi bucket”—slung underneath to drop water on the flames.

We joined a coast guard helicopter crew at their Reykjavík base and hitched a ride to Skorradalsvatn, a lake in the west of the country, to watch them tackle a fire-fighting training exercise.

Click on each pic for full effect…

Flight Preparations

Cockpit Control

Airborne Over Reykjavík

Field Exercises

Firefighting From Above

Stowing Bambi

Debrief And Return

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