Can Carry Up To 4,000 Gallons Of Water Or Fire Retardant

A Boeing 737 passenger airplane which has been converted to a fire tanker has been deployed for the first time in New South Wales, Australia.

The BBC reports that the airplane can carry more than 4,000 gallons of water or fire retardant as well as up to 63 firefighters in its current configuration.

The conversion was completed by Canada's Coulson Aviation. The airplane is on contract with the NSW Rural Fire Service. It was employed for the first time on a fire that broke out about 90 miles north of Sydney, Australia and threatened several homes. The fire charred about 3,700 acres before being contained.

The NWS Rural Fire Service has larger tankers, but spokesman Chris Garlick says the 737 is a "more versatile" airplane. He told the BBC that the airplane "[has] all the capacity to drop big loads of water and retardant, but because it was a former passenger plane, we can also carry people in it and across interstate lines."

The 737 "FireLiner" is the latest addition to the Coulson fleet, according to the company, which says it is the first to undertake such a modification. The process took 43,000 man hours and three years to complete.

(Image provided by Coulson Aviation)

FMI: Source report, www.coulsonaviationusa.com