Buffalo Airways has been awarded the contract to provide operation and maintenance of the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) Air Tractor 802A FireBoss Amphibious Water Bomber (FireBoss) fleet.Buffalo Airways was one of three proponents that submitted proposals.

The Government of the Northwest Territories signed the contract with Joe McBryan, President of Buffalo Airways yesterday.

The contract is for a five-year period, covering the 2017-2018 to 2020-2021 wildland fire seasons with an option to extend the contract for additional five years and includes supply and operation of birddog aircraft, pilots, engineers and maintenance capacity for the FireBoss fleet.

Robert C. McLeod, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, said:

“I am very pleased the successful proponent for this specialized aviation services contract is a northern company. It demonstrates the competitiveness of the aviation industry in the Northwest Territories for specialized aerial suppression services in support of wildland fire preparedness and operations.”

Buffalo Airways was one of three proponents that submitted proposals.

The new aircraft replace four GNWT-owned skimmer aircraft (CL-215). The FireBoss aircraft is capable of working as a land-based aircraft or as an amphibious aircraft. It can skim water from nearby water sources to continue fighting a fire without having to return to base.

The FireBoss can load up to 3,025 litres of water in 15 seconds and be back on its way to the fire line in less than 30 seconds.