Gwinnett County Police are taking advantage of a new tool to help Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services.
The Gwinnett County Police Aviation Unit trained for a few days to use Bambi buckets, an aerial firefighting device that can be attached to a helicopter, to pour water onto a fire.
The helicopter pilot refills the bucket by flying it into a body of water like a pond or lake.
The Gwinnett aviation unit has two buckets that can each hold 96 gallons of water. The unit has had the buckets since the early 1990s but haven’t used them since the late 1990s or early 2000s, according to Gwinnett County Police Aviation Unit Capt. Richard King.
The aviation unit decided to start using the buckets again after several fires broke out in 2016 along the I-85 corridor and Harbins Park, in Dacula, King said.
“I recall listening to the radio and hearing how taxing that event was on our staff, the fire department, and how much it affected the Citizens of Gwinnett County both from a traffic perspective, as well as potential damage to property,” King said in an email.
Before the buckets could be used, the aviation unit had to send them for repairs, which cost more than $18,000, King said.
The unit will now start using the buckets on a monthly basis to maintain proficiency, King said.
“Having an option to drop water on locations that are not easily accessible by traditional means is a great resource to have that can support our partners with the Fire Department and provide enhanced services to Citizens and visitors of Gwinnett County,” King said.
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