Coulson Aviation is joining the firefight in B.C.’s forests, bringing its night-vision technology to battle wildfires. The Port Alberni-based company, whose pilots use night-vision goggles to battle fires in Australia and the United States, has signed a 70-day contract with the B.C. Wildfire Service to provide one of its Sikorsky S-61 Type 1 helitankers that are equipped for night-time operations. The deal marks the first time Coulson will conduct night-vision aerial firefighting missions on Canadian soil. …Coulson Aviation Canada has logged thousands of night-vision flight hours and dropped tens of millions of gallons at night on urban wildfires in California and through parts of Australia. The company earned the world’s first night-vision firefighting certification from Transport Canada in 2011, followed by the first approvals in Australia and the United States. …Coulson Aviation employs a two-aircraft team, including a Sikorsky S-61 firefighting helicopter and a Sikorsky S-76 supervision helicopter.

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