A new and improved Bell 214ST helicopter will soon roll off the production lines with McDermott Aviation announcing the restart of manufacturing after more than 20 years for one of the main workhorses of disaster response worldwide.
McDermott Aviation is announcing the move at the Verticon aviation conference in Atlanta, US, this week. Australian-based McDermott Aviation claims the title of the world’s largest operator of the Bell 214 Series helicopters, which is a stable feature in many firefighting fleets in the Asia Pacific, Asia, North America and Europe.
Bell 214ST ‘Super transport’ helicopter. Photo: Vasilis Kranitsas.
McDermott Aviation’s ownership of the Type Certificate for the 214ST platform enables it to revamp it for the needs of modern aerial firefighting, heavy lift logistics and disaster response, and meet the certification requirements of operators worldwide.
The 214ST was originally conceived for military use at the request the Shah of Iran in the late 1970s. But with the overthrow of the Shah in 1979, Bell switched the concept to civil use and produced the first production models in 1982.
The 214ST proved to be a strong and reliable workhorse for heavy lift tasks, being capable of carrying up to 19 firefighters or passengers – ST is for Super Transport. The last 214ST was built in 1993, which means all the current aircraft in operation are well into their third decade of use or more.
Founder and President of McDermott Aviation, John McDermott, told Wildfire Today from Atlanta that his company have been improving and modifying the 214ST since its first purchase in 2012.
“They are now so popular that there are no more available on the market. We thought, well, we have got to manufacture spare parts for our helicopters why not just start building more helicopters? We have had massive support throughout the world for that. The aerial firefighting market is short of good utility helicopters that can actually do the work.”
McDermott Aviation Founder and President, John McDermott
We thought, well, we have got to manufacture spare parts for our helicopters why not just start building more helicopters?
john mcdermott
The McDermott 214ST is a twin-engine heavy utility helicopter currently powered by GE CT7 engines, capable of lifting external loads of up to 7900 pounds/3700kgs, with a cruise speed of up to 160 knots and a range exceeding 300 nautical miles. Future variants of the aircraft will incorporate the latest-generation Safran ANETO family power plants, delivering better performance, efficiency and reliability.
Delivery slots for a modified aircraft are expected to begin from 2027, with factory-new aircraft with the new airframes, engines and avionics targeted for 2028–2029 production timelines. Components will be made in various jurisdictions with the final assembly in San Bernadino, California. McDermott Aviation is based on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland but plans to manufacture components there are stalled.
”We are manufacturing in America. We would like to manufacture in Australia too but CASA [Civil Aviation Safety Authority] make it so impossible to do anything,” McDermott told Wildfire Today.
“What’s particularly interesting about this program is that it’s essentially the rebirth of a tried and proven helicopter,” Mr McDermott said.
“As the new manufacturer, we have the unique advantage of being able to incorporate all the improvements that have emerged over more than 40 years of operational experience.”
The attorneys for the man accused of setting one of California’s most destructive wildfires are arguing he should be released due to a newly released deposition from a firefighter who was at the scene.
Law enforcement arrested 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht in Melbourne, Florida, on Oct. 8, suspecting he maliciously started the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles on New Year’s Day. Acting U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli said prosecutors believed Rinderknecht set the fire that would go on to kill 12 people and destroy more than 6,000 homes in the wealthy Pacific Palisades neighborhood.
Rinderknecht’s defense attorneys have since argued he is being used as a scapegoat to detract from the LA Fire Department’s failure to fully extinguish the earlier blaze, according to reporting from the Associated Press. His attorneys’ calls intensified after an LA firefighter, in a newly released deposition, reported hot spots were still active at the fire’s original scene, contradicting testimony from a battalion chief who said all hot spots were out.
“This evidence calls into question not only the fundamental fairness for my client’s continued detention, but the very foundation of the charges themselves,” Rinderknecht’s attorney, Steve Haney, said in a statement to the AP. “This is not a case about an individual causing a fire. This is a case about government agencies failing to do their jobs.”
A conversation with Trevor Howard, National Manager Prescribed Burning Strategy, AFAC and President of the International Association of Wildland Fire, with AFAC Deputy CEO and Executive Director, Strategy, People and Performance Erin Liston-Abel.
This article first appeared in Fire Australia Magazine, Issue 1, 2026
Could you please tell us a bit about your career in the sector and your current responsibilities as National Manager, Prescribed Burning Strategy at AFAC?
From an early age my ambition was to work in the bush and have a life of adventure. My career started in forestry in Queensland in December 1975. I’ve since worked with land management agencies and rural fire services across the Northern Territory, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia in operations and program management. Along the way I completed a degree in anthropology and worked with traditional owners across northern and central Australia. I’ve also been involved in numerous major incidents, as an incident management team member and state agency commander as well as conducting post-incident reviews, preparing inquiry submissions, addressing recommendations and managing organisational change.
After many years in an agency contributing to the AFAC National Burning Project, I joined AFAC in 2022. My role has three focus areas: 1) supporting member agencies with program and operational reviews, and advice on policy, research utilisation, risk management and operational best practice, 2) developing new initiatives to address workforce changes and declining national capability, especially for complex prescribed burning, and 3) engaging with national NGOs and other organisations involved in supporting and using fire for conservation, forestry, agriculture, emissions abatement and Indigenous livelihoods. I’m fortunate to be hosted at the Bushfire Centre of Excellence in Western Australia by the Department of Fire and Emergency Services. DFES is a unique organisation leading fire and other hazards across a vast state spanning southern forests, central deserts and tropical savannas, as well as managing a large aerial burning program in the Kimberley and an innovative Cultural Fire Program.
I’m also President of the International Association of Wildland Fire.
Source: International Association of Wildland Fire
Throughout your career, have you noticed many changes in prescribed burning practices?
Several things characterised the 1970s when my career started. Forestry had been the leader in fire science, innovation in equipment and technology, and a professional approach to prescribed burning and bushfire management. The use of fire by farmers, graziers and pastoralists was widespread, and departments of agriculture conducted research into fire, pastures and production and supported primary producers with extension programs. Rural fire services played a similar role in supporting community-based brigades and land managers. Society was generally more aware of rural matters and supportive of prescribed burning, but there was very little understanding or acknowledgement of Aboriginal burning.
While the grass still grows and forest fuels still accumulate, the major changes have been in rural land use, a growing urban interface, organisational arrangements including the decline of forestry and the dominance of fire and emergency services, increasing environmental regulations, and divergent socio-political viewpoints. Many operational practices continue, largely unchanged, but there are now increased constraints requiring careful and sometimes protracted planning and approvals, as well as attracting greater scrutiny. There are many positive changes including an emphasis on safety, equipment design, and multi-disciplinary science including a much closer relationship with meteorologists, some of whom are embedded in agencies to support burn programs. The historical use of fire by local people is now returning to many landscapes with the rightful recognition of Indigenous connections to land and the importance of cultural burning.
With climate change bringing more intense and frequent extreme weather, and as the higher risk weather season becomes longer, how are the emergency services adapting prescribed burning practices?
Adapting prescribed burning to the uncertainties of weather, seasons and climate change is perhaps one of our greatest challenges. On one hand, prescribed burning is becoming even more important for protecting humans, infrastructure, livelihoods and ecosystems from the impacts of extreme wildfires, while on the other hand increased governance and scrutiny can be a barrier to organisational agility. There’s an ongoing need to optimise approaches to burn programs, burn preparation and operational planning, to maximise windows of opportunity which may occur unexpectedly. There is some progress in this area, but much more needs to be done, including research and development for better seasonal outlooks, forecasts and decision support tools specifically for prescribed burning.
How do different agencies work together on prescribed burns and how important is interagency collaboration?
Each jurisdiction has made significant progress with interagency collaboration and interoperability. With land management agencies having diverse portfolios, including nature conservation, recreation and visitor management, marine parks and wildlife regulation, fire management is just one activity. Likewise, fire and emergency services deal with multiple disciplines and hazards as well as protracted year-round events including cyclones, floods and bushfires, so resources and capacity can be stretched. Working together is not an option, it is essential. We see the benefits of interstate and international resource sharing, well-managed year-round by the National Resource Sharing Centre. Resource sharing for prescribed burning is the next frontier which could bring enormous benefits, not just in managing fuels and protecting communities and the environment, but in the sharing of expertise across jurisdictions.
How is Indigenous cultural fire knowledge incorporated into prescribed burning practices?
While both prescribed burning and Indigenous cultural burning are concerned with putting fire into the landscape, Indigenous burning involves a unique connection to Country that has been informed by thousands of years of traditional beliefs and values, shared understandings of human-environment relationships, the intergenerational transfer of knowledge, and the responsibility for ongoing stewardship. Like a doctor prescribing medicine for a particular ailment, prescribed burning is often purpose-driven, planned and formulated according to empirical science and derived models.
The commonalties are also important. The significance of Indigenous fire stewardship has become widely accepted, while the effectiveness of prescribed burning has sometimes been questioned. Prescribed burning though, despite its association with western science, is founded on the same principles, real-world observations and evidence base that Indigenous cultures worldwide have learned from and relied upon. Fire can be used as an effective tool, fuels and wildfires can be managed, and a well-managed landscape is a healthy, productive and resilient habitat for humans and other species.
In northern Australia, for example, after decades of disruption to Indigenous burning, and destructive large scale late dry season wildfires, vast areas are now back under traditional stewardship. With land title changes and incentive schemes such as carbon credits, the north is being transformed. Across Australia, fire and emergency services and land management agencies are actively working with indigenous Australians to enable and support their aspirations in fire management, access to Country and cultural burning needs. Much progress is being made. As these relationships further mature, so too will the two-way learning accelerate and deepen. Even though the journey has just begun in some parts of the nation, Australia is on a new, positive and irreversible path to a future informed by the wisdom and experience of the past.
How do lessons learned from past burns influence planning going forward?
The AFAC National Burning Project was a valuable initiative that is still providing value. Workshops were held across the country to gather knowledge on best practice for strategic planning, program planning, operational planning and burn implementation. This initiative produced numerous publications, documenting evidence, knowledge, case studies and lessons learned from all regions of Australia. The final book in 2020 remains an authoritative text which not just drawn upon by AFAC members. Others including Indigenous organisations with carbon projects are applying the principles to demonstrate the rigour in their program management.
Each agency and jurisdiction has processes for post-incident reviews and the management of lessons learned. While primarily for bushfires and other incidents, these processes are applied to prescribed burns each year, although much more could be done. Through the AFAC Prescribed Burning Network, some agencies are sharing case studies which will assist with learning and improvement across the sector as well as efforts to communicate with the public about the professionalism and efficacy of burning.
The most valuable learning takes place in the bush. Competency based training programs are important, but experience in the field, especially under the guidance of highly experienced practitioners, remains essential for career development. The decline of forestry and other workforce changes have been accompanied by a loss of knowledge, which is becoming critical nationwide, affecting the delivery of burn programs and the more complex operations. AFAC has been working to address this and is seeking funding for a masterclass program that will take experienced practitioners and expose them to unfamiliar environments and operations in different jurisdictions, while being mentored by sector veterans. Program graduates with ongoing support as a community of practice will provide future leadership and expertise.
Are there innovations or new technology being used to improve the planning or delivery of prescribed burning?
Technology for prescribed burning has continued to change, from the Indigenous firestick to the drip torch to the aerial incendiary. The 1960s saw revolutionary advances in prescribed burning technology with the pioneering of aerial burning. Today, aerial ignition remains an essential tool to conduct prescribed burns and for other bushfire suppression strategies. Other major users include non-government conservation organisations, the pastoral industry, and Aboriginal corporations and Indigenous ranger groups across vast areas from Cape York to the Kimberley. Satellite remote sensing and end user applications such as the North Australia Fire Information website have supported planning and monitoring for these activities over the last couple of decades.
Drones are the emerging platform for delivering prescribed burns, allowing operations to be conducted in a safer and more targeted and timely manner. As for burn planning and monitoring, the use of artificial intelligence is likely to be the next revolution, if its power can be harnessed and integrated with fuel conditions, weather models, observations and decision support systems as well as human factors, workflows and organisational cultures. I recently attended a conference in Canada, and one of the exhibitors had developed a robotic and remotely controlled snake that could slither along a fire or burn edge at night, checking for hot spots, and applying water and additives up to a kilometre from the operator. There are more innovators than ever before, and the next revolution could be just over the horizon. While the gadgetry is important, fire management including prescribed burning remains primarily a people business and we must continue to invest in human capability.
While the trend to more extreme fire weather days is well understood for many regions worldwide, a new study has identified the rising incidence of widespread concurrent extreme fire weather days across multiple global regions. The increased risk of concurrent fires poses significant social and ecological consequences and may complicate the global sharing of fire suppression and other resources.
Researchers from the University of California, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and other institutions looked into trends of synchronous fire weather to identify the risks it poses to communities and fire response. Previous studies found that the increasing trends intensify the demands on fire suppression efforts, worsen air pollution, and adversely impact human health, but these researchers hoped to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon.
The researchers analyzed trends of synchronous fire weather in 14 regions defined by the Global Fire Emissions Database and explored the relationships between the weather, climate variability, and air pollution exposure. They found “significant” positive increases in synchronous fire weather across most of the world’s regions over the past 50 years, including the western US, Europe, and Australia, along with South America and Southern Africa, both recognized as major global carbon emission hotspots.
Matt Jones, a scientist at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and one of the study’s authors, said the increase in fire weather will strain the numerous wildfire response resource-sharing agreements that numerous countries rely on.
“If one country is already managing a high-risk situation at home, sending support elsewhere may simply not be possible,” Jones said. “In effect, rising synchrony increases competition for finite firefighting resources.”
Jones also said the trends identified by the study signal the need for a further focus on how the increasing pattern of synchronous fire weather may evolve under future climate change and closer collaboration among fire management agencies in workforce planning and mutual aid agreements.
This investment, from the Budget 2025 commitment to bolster provincial and territorial aerial firefighting capacity, will go to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) to lease, manage and deploy federally funded aircraft for wildfires.
Following Canada’s second worst wildfire season in history in 2025, two years after the record breaking 2023 season, and the prospect of increasingly challenging wildfires in the years to come, Canada has stepped up its national approach to aerial firefighting.
CIFFC coordinates wildfire resources among federal, provincial, and territorial governments. Over the next five years, CIFFC will use this funding to lease and manage the deployment of federally funded wildfire fighting aircraft to provinces and territories to boost their capacity during periods of intense wildfire activity.
CIFFC has launched a request for proposals (RFP) to ensure that aircraft are available for use in the 2026 wildfire season. The deadline for applications is March 23, 2026. Wildfire Today will report on which aircraft are selected to expand Canada’s aerial fleet.
The Office of Eleanor Olszewski, Minister or Emergency Management and Community Resilience provided some clarity on the announcement through press secretary, Soraya Lemur.
“This is the first time the federal government has invested directly in aerial firefighting aircraft.”
Soraya lemur, press sec for Minister for Emergency manaGEMENT
“The $316.7 million announced on February 20, 2026, is new federal funding from Budget 2025 to strengthen Canada’s aerial firefighting capacity. This investment provides Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) with funding over five years (2026-2031) to lease and deploy new aerial firefighting aircraft in support of provinces and territories during periods of high wildfire activity.”
“This is the first time the federal government has invested directly in aerial firefighting aircraft. This new funding is not linked to, or a reallocation of, any previous funding commitments and represents a significant enhancement to Canada’s national wildfire response capacity.
“In practical terms, this funding enables CIFFC to lease aircraft, personnel, and maintenance support to ensure surge capacity is available when provinces and territories request assistance.”
It’s been 40 years since the United States’ western region has experienced this low of snowpack near winter’s end, setting the stage for what many fear will be an early and extreme peak wildfire season.
Much of the mountainous West is experiencing a snow drought due to drier-than-normal and warmer-than-normal winter weather, according to the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Water and Climate Center. Recent heavy precipitation in the western states did little to reduce the deficit, as large amounts of snow fell in areas that were either not experiencing drought or were already far behind their usual snowpack levels.
“Below-average snow-water equivalency remains a concern in much of the West, even in drought-free areas such as the Sierra Nevada,” the Center said in its most recent weekly report. “According to the California Department of Water Resources, the Sierra Nevada snowpack contained an average snow-water equivalency of 16 inches—up about 6 inches from earlier in the month, but less than three-quarters of normal for late February. In much of Arizona, New Mexico, and Oregon, snow-water equivalency values were less than 50 percent of normal.”
The widespread snow drought increases the likelihood for extreme wildfires in numerous ways, according to Desert Research Institute Director Tim Brown. He and other fire weather experts expect much of the West to have significantly high wildland fire potential as we near the summer months.
“The snowpack can definitely drought-stress the vegetation from the reduced soil moisture,” Brown said during a water supply briefing for the National Integrated Drought Information System. “There may also be a feedback process where that drought stress also increases the atmospheric drying…that exacerbates what the fire outcome might look like.”
Listen to Brown’s presentation in the video below:
The only thing that could lessen the chance of extreme fires would be a “major switch” in circulation patterns that keeps things cool and moist, but there’s nothing in seasonal forecasts or weather models that would indicate that.
Not only does low snowpack worsen environmental conditions and increase the possibility of extreme fires, but it also limits the window to safely set prescribed burns during the spring.
“If the underlying conditions are much drier than usual, and then it’s also warm on top of that…that’s going to reduce the amount of prescribed fire activity and then that, in turn, could also increase the fire potential as we get more into the summer season,” Brown said.
Recent research backs up officials’ claims of wildfire severity being tied to low snowpack. A study out of the University of Toronto published in December found that longer snow-free durations increase the severity of extreme wildfires, with earlier snow disappearance correlating to increased wildfire ignitions and longer fire seasons, specifically in boreal forests.
“Although the consequences of climate change on snow cover have not been a major focus of wildfire research, our work highlights the importance of incorporating snow cover dynamics into future models of wildfire burn severity,” the researchers said. “Improved understanding of how snow dynamics affect burn severity will help inform resource allocation (e.g., funding, monitoring, personnel), fuel reduction, and forest management strategies to reduce the risk of high-severity wildfire and maintain forest ecosystem health and function.”
