Since its introduction in 1982, the Bambi Bucket has become an indispensable part of aerial firefighting. Today, it is used the world over, as it is simple and effective
A Bambi Bucket is internationally used today to help in dousing flames. Image Courtesy: SEI Industries
The Indian Air Force was pressed into action on Tuesday evening after a massive fire broke out at Rajasthan’s Sariska Tiger Reserve, which houses at least 20 tigers.
Two Indian Air Force helicopters scooped up water from Rajasthan’s Siliserh Lake and dropped it over the forest fire in Sariska, 43 km from the lake.
The IAF in a statement said they sent two Mi-17 V5 helicopters after the Alwar district administration sent an SOS to help control the fire “which had spread over large areas in Sariska.”
“The IAF has deployed two Mi-17 V5 helicopters for Bambi Bucket ops. The operations are ongoing,” it said, referring to the collapsible bucket suspended from a helicopter performing firefighting operations and used for lifting and dumping water or fire-retardant chemicals.
We take a look at what is this ‘Bambi Bucket’ operation and how it helps in aerial firefighting.
What’s a Bambi bucket?
In the early 1980s, fighting forest fires with helicopters was a hassle. The huge rigid containers hanging down from the hooks slowed down helicopters on their way to the site. The complicated trap doors of these buckets often stopped working. Water sprayed rather than dropped from them, making putting out fire more difficult.
It was in 1982 that inventor Don Arney of SEI Industries in Canada had a ‘eureka moment’ and the Bambi Bucket was born.
According to reports, Arney was testing the strength of underwater airbags by filling them with water and hanging them upside down on a crane.
Amazed by how much weight the lightweight collapsible bags could contain, he built on it and the rest was history!
The Bambi Bucket is lightweight and fully collapsible, so it fits within the helicopter for transportation. Its fool-proof bottom valve requires very little power to work and hooking it up is simple and hassle-free. It also shoots water down in a solid column, making it more effective in containing fire.
Shawn Bethel, manager of SEI’s firefighting division, has said: “What made the Bambi Bucket revolutionary was the collapsible bucket.”
Today, the Bambi Bucket has become an icon of aerial firefighting.
It represents about 90 per cent of the world market and is in use in 110 countries worldwide.
It is manufactured in 20 different sizes, ranging in capacity from 72 to 2,600 US gallons (270 to 9,840 litres). SEI even offers a twin Bambi Bucket system for the world’s largest helicopter, the Mil Mi-26.
Use of ‘Bambi buckets’
The Bambi buckets have been extensively used across the world and in India to douse fires aerially.
On repeated occasions they have been used by the Indian Air Force to douse wildfires and other blazes.
In May 2018, an MLH class helicopter of the Indian Air Force was pushed into action to help contain the fire in South Delhi’s Malviya Nagar area. The fire had been classified as the “highest category” blaze in Delhi in recent times.
Interestingly, this was the first time the Bambi ops was done in an urban situation.
The Bambi Bucket was also used by the IAF to help contain the Uttarakhand wildfire in 2021.
In January 2021, when a massive wildfire in the famed Dzukou Valley located on the border of Manipur and Nagaland, continued to burn, four Mi-17V5 IAF helicopters equipped with Bambi Buckets carried out aerial firefighting operations.
The Bambi Bucket was also used in Japan to douse the nuclear reactors in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster of 2011.
Japanese defence crews pressed into action helicopters equipped with the Bambi Buckets to drop water on the nuclear reactors.
With inputs from agencies
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