Flager County has now officially received its brand-new Airbus H125 in a late August ceremony – the aircraft will be operated by their Fire & Rescue unit under the program name of “FireFlight”.

From the July 2023 press announcement by Airbus, the central Florida county ordered the new helicopter to replace their existing AS350B3, the oldest B3 in North America, which they had acquired in 2002 and recently sold to Canada.

Shortly after the new H125 was delivered to Flager Executive Airport in late August. a ceremony was held with representatives from across Flagler County Fire Rescue units, the Florida Forest Service, law enforcement and first responders, city and county officials, and both current and former members of the dedicated FireFlight crew.

The new arrival is seen in the foreground of this image, with the older aircraft in the background just prior to departure.  In its ceremony announcement, Flagler County also extended its appreciation to Wysong Enterprises, the Tennessee completion centre they used for the equipment fit-out and painting of the H125.

They also provided these useful statistics – in the 22 years since its 2002 helicopter launch, FireFlight has achieved:

• 797 patients transported to trauma centers
• 851 wildfire suppression missions
• 764 law enforcement support missions
• 479 public outreach events
• 282 search and rescue missions
• 2452 storm reconnaissance missions
• 2,087,849 gallons of water