A hub for emergency services was officially unveiled over the weekend, which is being labelled an “asset” heading into bushfire season.
Nepean Aerospace Park is NSW’s only standalone helicopter facility that provides year-round aerial emergency services like aerial firefighting and flood relief from the fringe of metropolitan Sydney.
CEO of Sydney Helicopters, which operates the Nepean Aerospace Park, Mark Harrold said the facility is one-of-a-kind in NSW and Penrith.
“From an aviation point of view, it has put Penrith on the map because it is a very important piece of infrastructure,” he said.
NSW Premier Chris Minns was invited to officially open the park on Old Castlereagh Road over the weekend after following closely the company’s journey to where it is now.
“The exact same characteristics that I think are required to run a helicopter, pick up water from a local creek, and dump it on a raging bushfire, which are confidence, a bit of patience, a lot of courage and the never give up attitude, the characteristics that you need to pursue that job is what Mark needed to get this park up and running and to keep Sydney Helicopters operating,” Minns said.
“This is difficult and dangerous work. The pilots that will be up over the bushfire season this coming summer and in years ahead do heroic work, and it will mean the difference between houses being lost or saved and people’s lives being lost or saved because the men and women that work for Sydney Helicopters and would fly at the Aerospace Park will make a massive difference to the state.”
During the 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires Sydney Helicopters flew more than 4,200 flight hours and dumped more than 42 million litres of water.
The Nepean Aerospace Park holds 55,000 litres of jet fuel and means that emergency services can stay in the air longer after previously having to fly to Bankstown for refuelling, Harrold said.
“A classic example was last Thursday at 4pm in the afternoon, one of the NSW Ambulance helicopters run by Toll was doing a rescue up in the Mountains,” Harrold said.
“They winched in a medical crew after a person had fallen off a cliff, the person was badly injured, and the helicopter couldn’t wait around for as long as they needed to get them out because the aircraft had to get fuel. The aircraft flew here; it filled up and went back to the scene within half an hour. In the past the helicopter would have had to go all the way to Bankstown for fuel and then back, so it would have been about an hour and a quarter turnaround. That’s a big benefit for the patient who is lying out in the bush.
“It just meant that emergency service aircraft can be deployed more efficiently. They can stay on task longer and have better outcomes for the community.”
Emily Chate
Emily Chate joined The Western Weekender in 2024, and covers local news - primarily courts and politics. A graduate of the University of Wollongong, Emily has contributed to The Daily Telegraph and worked as a freelance journalist.