Aerial firefighting specialist McDermott Aviation will deploy 23 aircraft across five states this bushfire season, with the company's Queensland contract already underway as fire season opens in the state this week.
Two aircraft are currently based in Toowoomba and a third at the company's Sunshine Coast base at Cooroy, available for deployment anywhere in Australia as required. As the season progresses, McDermott will have five aircraft contracted in Victoria, five in Tasmania, nine in Western Australia and one in NSW.
The fleet comprises Bell 214ST and Bell 214B heavy-lift helicopters, AS355 Twin Squirrels and Dauphins.
The deployment comes as AFAC's Spring 2026 Seasonal Bushfire Outlook identifies heightened fire risk across northern and south-eastern NSW, south-east Queensland, north-eastern Tasmania, parts of WA, SA and Victoria, and large parts of the Northern Territory. The Bureau of Meteorology's long-range forecast points to above-average temperatures across most of the country and below-average rainfall in parts of southern and eastern Australia.
McDermott Aviation founder and president John McDermott said readiness was fundamental to the company's approach.
"Every fire season is different and our job isn't to predict what is going to happen. Our job is to be prepared and to make sure we have the people, aircraft and support capability ready when we're called on," McDermott said.
"Having 23 aircraft contracted across five states is a significant operation, but there is a lot more behind that number than the aircraft themselves. We have pilots, engineers, ground crews, operations staff and support teams working across the country to keep those aircraft serviceable, positioned and ready to respond."
The company's firefighting operations are backed by in-house engineering and maintenance, supporting aircraft availability and rapid deployment as requirements shift between states through the season.