Fire/Disaster Prevention

The crew of the Tokyo Fire Department’s fire attacker Eurocopter (Aérospatiale) AS332L1 Super
Puma demonstrates the aircraft’s capabilities at its Tachikawa, Tokyo, base in November 2013.

A nation that is particularly prone to natural disasters, Japan has aviation units in place that conduct the full gamut of emergency, firefighting and relief operations. Including that covering the capital, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Tokyo Fire and Disaster Management Agency, 16 cities and 39 of the country’s 47 prefectural administrations operate these dedicated, helicopter-equipped units. The 40th prefectural unit formed in Saga in April 2020, and its aircraft was being flight tested in August (see Bulletin Board page) with a view to becoming operational in March 2021. 

Unlike the local fire department-controlled municipal units, which are independently operated, most prefectural governments prefer to outsource their aviation units’ operations to private company contractors. Maintaining a high degree of response readiness, units in the same region conduct regular joint training exercises that include the rehearsal and coordination of operations with Self-Defence Force elements.

J-HangarSpace will be winching itself down to delve into some fascinating aspects that will cover the aircraft, personnel, and operations of these units.

A typical scene during coordinated disaster response operations. This is Hanamaki airport,
Iwate Prefecture, on April 11, 2011, exactly a month after the Great East Japan Earthquake
triggered a tsunami that devastated large areas of the Tohoku region. Closest to the
camera is the Kobe City Air Corps’ then BK117B-2 KOBE-I, which is parked
alongside the Shizuoka Prefecture Air Rescue Team’s BK117C-1
Orange Arrow. Just starting up at the back is the AS332L1
Hakuchō 6 from the Tokyo Fire & Disaster Management 
Agency (FDMA) Flying Unit. (Photo: 402SQC-1 via Wikimedia Commons)

In the meantime, as a temporary measure, tables listing the aircraft operated by each municipal or prefectural aviation unit have been added below. Interspersed with a growing number of photographs, these will eventually be moved to a separate Data File page.

In the case of the prefectural units, J-HangarSpace retains the name derived from the organisation under which each unit operates, officially known in English as a Disaster Prevention Bureau; it would be more accurate to refer to them as something like disaster relief aviation units. A unit’s unofficial English name, if any, appears after the formation date.

Please note that the in service date(s) for aircraft formerly operated are based on registration/cancellation data and are for guidance purposes only.

Named Yurikamome (Black-Headed Gull), Eurocopter (Aérospatiale) AS332L-1 Super Puma
JA9676 sported twin nose-mounted hoses for tackling fires in high-rise buildings when
operated by the Tokyo Fire Department Aviation Unit. After 20 years’ service,
this aircraft was replaced by an EC225LP in 2008.

Operated by Honda Airways from Tochigi Heliport in Haga, Bell 412EP JA09TG Ooruri
(Blue-and-White Flycatcher) was in service with the Tochigi Prefectural Disaster
Prevention Aviation Unit for 20 years, from 1997 to 2017. Tochigi became
one of the 14 prefectures that have so far switched to an AW139.

(All photographs on this website are copyright J-HangarSpace
unless otherwise stated.) 

Municipal Fire Department Aviation Units

Named Ootori after a legendary bird, Eurocopter (Aérospatiale) AS365N3 JA03CF has been
operational with Chiba City’s Fire Helicopter Corps since February 2006.

The two helicopters currently in service with the Fukuoka City FPB. (Above) AS365N2 Hoojiro
(Siberian Meadow Bunting), seen at Fukuoka airport in December 2008, and (below)
AS365N3 Yurikamome (Black-headed Gull), at the same location in November 2012.
(Photos: Amayagan via Wikimedia Commons)

After a fuel stop, Hamamatsu’s AS365N3 Hamakaze (Beach Wind) departs Shizuoka Heliport.
(Photo [Sept. 2021]: カモノハツZ via Twitter @W1hUskaQUeaPe9Z)

Hamakaze looks somewhat different on a bright, sunny day.
(Photo [Training at Fujikawa gliding field, Shizuoka City, Aug. 2020]: via Twitter @spci61-260)

The tail marking is the emblem that symbolizes the City of Hamamatsu. Adopted in 2005, the nature-inspired design consists of green upper and blue lower parts. The former represents the abundant forest in the north of the city, the latter the beauty of Lake Hamana and the Enshu Sea. The shape of the white Enshu Sea wave is said to express Hamamatsu’s dynamism and development.

A photo taken during a training exercise designed to hone Hiroshima City aircrew skills in hoisting
visually impaired people and their guide dogs to safety. The three wavy blue lines on the aircraft’s
tail are from Hiroshima’s official symbol, adopted from that of the former Aki (or Geishu) 
province way back in 1896, as a three-river “City of Water”. In recent years, torrential
rainfall in the area has caused widespread flooding and landslides as well as loss 
of life, so the unit has to maintain a high level of readiness.
(Photo [August 2020]: Hiroshima Fire Service Bureau via Twitter @Hiroshima F_S_B)

Then named Soyokaze (Zephyr) 2, the Kawasaki Air Rescue MBB/Kawasaki BK117B-2 was on
static display at JMSDF Tateyama, Chiba Prefecture, October 6, 2013. This aircraft was
supplemented by a brand-new AS365N3+ in 2015 and renamed Soyokaze 1.

(Above) The second AS365 to be named Kitakyuu and operated by the Kita-Kyushu unit rests in its
hangar at Kita-Kyushu airport in March 2016. (Below) The speaker array mounted on the rear
fuselage is primarily used to communicate with those in need of assistance.
(Photos: ぽっちー via Twitter @pochi_m)

A short, high-quality YouTube video of this aircraft in action, taking off and departing after a training exercise in June 2010, can be found here (link). On the markings front, note that the rakish blue fuselage stripe carries the words Kitakyushu City Fire and Disaster Management Department (link). The tail marking (link) is of the city’s “herb” design, the surrounding five petals of which represent the five then municipalities that were merged to form the city in 1963. The center design is primarily a stylized 北 (kita, meaning north),  while the star-shaped design denotes industry in the form of a gear and the radial urban development of the city.

The Kobe City Air Corps’ BK117C-2 KOBE-II passes over the city’s Port Island in September 2008.
The Air Corps is attached to the Keibōtai (literally Civilian Guard Unit) of the city’s Fire
Department and operates its helicopters jointly with the Hyogo Prefectural
Disaster Prevention Aviation Unit. (Photo: “J o” via Wikimedia Commons)

Painted on the undersides of JA911A are the kyō from Kyoto and shō from shōbō (fire department).
(Photo [Dec. 2019]: インコ好きvia Twitter @color_hiyoko)

(Above [JA911A] and below [JA02FD]) The two gleaming Kyoto AS365N3 helicopters in their
hangar at the city’s heliport, December 2018
(Photos: 祥 via Twitter @rescue60K)

(Above) Former Nagoya Municipal Firefighting Aviation Unit Alouette III JA9093 was placed on
display at the then Kakamigahara Aerospace and Science Museum, Gifu Prefecture, in March
1996. Seen here in October 2000, the aircraft was eventually passed on to The Association
for the Preservation of Helicopter History in July 2016. Its successor was AS365N2 
Nagoya 2 (below), which was itself replaced by ‘N3 Hideyoshi in 2015.

The two latest generation aircraft currently operated in flight over the city (above) with
Nagoya Castle in the background and (below) during a display at the traditional
New Year firefighters’ event event held at the Port of Nagoya, January 2020.
(Photos: [Top] City of Nagoya Fire Department via Twitter @NagoyaShobo);
[above] しだーぱむぱむ® ver.2.01 via Twitter @EPSHV)

Okayama Air Rescue’s BK117C-2 replaced an earlier model ‘C-1 in 2015. (Photo: KHI)

A somewhat clearer image of JA33BK, which is named Momotarō (Peach Boy) after the legend that 
is said to have taken place in Okayama; hence the peaches as a tail marking. The aircraft is based
at Okayama Momotaro airport. (Photo [taken in 2020]: ひょーご via Twitter @0128BKHY)

After a 16-year career, Osaka Fire Department’s JA050F was on the verge of
replacement by an H155 when this photo was taken in June 2021.
(Photo: ひょーご via Twitter @0128BKHY)

Sapporo Air Rescue Bell 412EP Sapporo 2 seen at Okadama airport, Hokkaido, in October 2007.
(Photo: “100yen” via Wikimedia Commons)

One of the two Bell 412EPs operated by the Sendai Municipal Firefighting Aviation Unit, JA119T is
named Keyaki (zelkova) after the tree chosen to symbolize Miyagi Prefecture.
(Photo [April 2015]: Ebiebi2 via Wikimedia Commons)

In April 2019, the other 412EP Sendai was a visitor to JGSDF Kasuminome for the 62nd 
anniversary of the garrison’s establishment. (Photo: 北狸 via Twitter @Kitadanuki)

Along with Hiroshima and Okayama, Shizuoka is one of the three prefectures that operate units at
the prefectural level and from a city of the same name. This photo was taken during an event
at Shizuoka heliport where members of the public could experience being winched up to the
aircraft and flown around the airfield. (Photo [Oct. 2018]: あっきvia Twitter @donguri_ka)

The helicopter named Kawasemi (Kingfisher) during a training exercise at Shizuoka heliport.
The emblem carried on the nose of the aircraft (below) depicts three “kawasemi-zu”
rushing to answer a 119 emergency call.
(Photo [Oct. 2018]: カリス(支援舟に心を奪われた者) via Twitter @TeamCaris)(Image: Shizuoka City Fire Bureau Facebook)

Formerly operated from Tokyo heliport, this SA330F was put out to grass at the Museum of
Aeronautical Sciences in August 1989. (Photo [Sept. 2013]: Alec Wilson via Wikimedia Commons)

AW139 JA14TD Chidori 1, one of the new guard now operating with the Tokyo service.
(Photo: さくらもち (Sakuramochi) via Twitter @Zpp4O7)

(Above and below) Taken at Tachikawa in November 2013, these two views are of JA119E
Kamome (Seagull), one of the three Eurocopter (Aérospatiale) AS365N3s operated by the
Tokyo Fire Department.

Yokohama heliport-based AS365N2 Hamachidori 1 (Plover 1) seen giving an air rescue
demonstration during the Yokohama Fire Department’s New Year Parade
in January 2013. (Photo: Toshinori Baba via Wikimedia Commons)

Another fine action shot, this time of sister aircraft AS365N2 Hamachidori 2 in August 2014
(Photo: Mj-bird via Wikimedia Commons)

The first of the Yokohama AW139s comes to the end of its display at the 2014 edition of the New Year
fire department festival. Maintaining the tradition, both aircraft have retained the name of their
predecessors, Hamachidori (Plover). (Photo ‘shampoorobot’ via Wikimedia Commons)

(Photo: Chiba Fire Helicopter Corps via Twitter @chiba_shobo)

Prefectural Disaster Prevention Bureau Aviation Units

Aichi Prefecture’s Bell 421EP was replaced by a 412EPI in the same colour scheme.
(Photo: CHIYODA I [Sept. 2015] via Wikimedia Commons)

(Above and below) Carrying the Japanese for Aichi Prefecture on the sides of its fuselage, veteran
stand-in Bell 412EP JA6772 departs Nagoya airport in May 2020. From 1996 to 2016, this
aircraft was operated by Hokkaido Police before being acquired in 2017 by a company
called TMC International. Short-term leases covering helicopter overhaul absences
had previously seen the aircraft bearing titling for Gunma (2017), Wakayama (2018),
Kagoshima and Iwate (2019) prefectures. The aircraft had returned to Hokkaido by
June 2020, this time for service with the Sapporo municipal aviation unit, and
was still present there in July 2021.
(Photos: サ via Twitter @HgoNkm)

(Photo [Oct. 2018]: Troutist J via Twitter @Troutist_J)

(Photo [Oct. 2020]: MH-38R via Twitter @38RMh)

Ehime21 visiting Nagoya Airport in February 2018.
(Photo: しだーぱむぱむ® ver.2.01 via Twitter @EPSHV)

(Photo [Fukui airport, Apr. 2021]: シューティングスター via Twitter @nGHvnuz8BHwd4a5)

(Above and below) Having sustained damaged during a woodland firefighting operation in
May 2020, Fukushima Air Rescue’s AW139 was returned to partial service in March 2021.
(Photos: Fukushima Air Rescue via Twitter @Fukushima_Bosai)

(Photo [March 2021]: Hotty758 via Twitter @Hotty7581)

A photo of a Gifu rescue crew and JA21AR being put through their paces during a training
observation visit by their counterparts from Aichi Prefecture.
(Photo [July 2019]: Aichi Air Rescue via Twitter @AichiAirRescue)

Bell 412EP JA200G Haruna overflies its home base of Gunma Heliport in Maebashi in 2013.
After 21 years’ service, this aircraft was lost in a tragic accident in August 2018.

An inauguration ceremony for Gunma Prefecture’s AW139 was held on September 8, 2021.
Learning from the tragic loss of the previous Haruna, this aircraft is fitted with a flight
recorder and safety features that include auto-hovering and collision avoidance systems.
(Photo: きりしまvia Twitter @katori93cp)

(Above) Maple during a search and rescue demonstration flight at the firefighters’ event held in the city of Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture, in April 2021 and (below) at its home base in October 2018.
(Photos: [Top] NAST40ZZ via Twitter @NART40VX; [above] うー via Twitter @hu_119)

A crewman keeps watch from a side window as the pilot manoeuvres Hamanasu (Sweet Briar) 2 at
Okadama airport in October 2007. (Photo: “100 yen” via Wikimedia Commons)

(Photo [Okadama, October 2019]: CJ@armingarea1836)

A fine image of the Hyogo Prefecture aircraft taking part in the training exercise
conducted on National Disaster Preparedness Day (September 1) 2021.
(Photo: ひょーご via Twitter @0128BKHY)

 

 

(Photo [Chofu airport, Tokyo, Jan. 2020]: Wilco via Twitter @Wilco11886715)

 

 

(Photo [Yao airport, Osaka, Feb. 2021]: マサさんvia Twitter @RJOY_spotter)

 

Part of the fleet belonging to Nakanihon Air Service, the Mie Disaster Prevention Unit’s aircraft
operator, Bell 412 JA6767 Mie plays a key role during a rescue mission on Mount Gozaisho in
November 2010. On occasion, prefectures operating just one helicopter are provided with a
temporary replacement to cover their usual aircraft’s extended maintenance absences.
This same aircraft has also seen service with the Aichi Prefecture unit.
(Photo: Alpsdake via Wikimedia Commons)

Mie Disaster Prevention Unit’s AW139 at JGSDF Akeno, November 2019 
(Photo: ぷに一 [@NikonskyF16])

Formerly operated by the Nagasaki Air Rescue, BK117C-1 JA6708 was drafted in to replace a
Miyagi aircraft damaged beyond economic repair by the tsunami of March 11, 2011, and was
one of the three BK117s to bear the prefecture’s name. Photographed when flying over 
its Sendai airport base in August 2012, the aircraft was later sold to a private
air ambulance service. (Photo: Tettoumania2358 via Wikimedia Commons)

Named Miyagi, the prefecture’s AS365N3+ visited JGSDF Kasuminome in April 2018 for the 61st
anniversary of the garrison’s establishment. (Photo: 抹茶猫 via Twitter @matchaneco)

The Miyazaki Prefecture Bell 412EP was present at the Nyutabaru air show in December 2012.
Somewhat at odds with its colour scheme, the name on the side of the cabin,
Aozora, means blue sky. (Photo: Takao Kadokami)

The Nagano Air Rescue Team’s distinctively coloured Bell 412EP at rest amid the disappearing
snow at Matsumoto Airport in April 2010. This aircraft was lost in a tragic
accident in March 2017. (Photo: contri via Wikimedia Commons)

Alps (Nagano Air Rescue Team website photo gallery)

Alps was the first helicopter in Japan to be modified with a Fast Fin or Dual Tailboom Strakes (DTS)
system, a modification designed to improve handling at low speed and in the hover. The fin bore the
logo that appears on the Nagano Prefecture flag, a stylized ナ (‘na’) for Nagano that has the
appearance of a bird in flight. (Nagano Air Rescue Team website photo gallery)

The Bell 421EPI destined for Nagano Prefecture during flight testing. The unit officially accepted 
delivery of its new Alps on November 16, 2020. Built by Bell, the aircraft was procured and
equipped by SUBARU. (Photo [Utsunomiya, Sept. 2020]: Senda Jet via Twitter @santa463)

The Nagano Air Rescue Team pay a visit to their counterparts in the Yamanashi Prefecture aviation
unit during a long-range disaster response training exercise held on March 11, 2021, the
the 10th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake. The team also dropped
in on the Gunma- and Tokyo-based units.
(Photo [Mar. 8, 2021]: Nagano Air Rescue Team via Twitter @AirNagano)

 

 

The Niigata Air Rescue S-76B passes low over its home base in August 2011. This aircraft was
replaced by the AW139 early in 2016. (Photo: “Cp9asngf” via Wikimedia Commons)

The Niigata Air Rescue Crew receive a visit from the Nagano Air Rescue Team, which was on
a long-range disaster response training exercise held three days before the
10th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake.
(Photo [Mar. 8, 2021]: Nagano Air Rescue Team via Twitter @AirNagano)

Air Rescue Oita’s BK-117C-1 was replaced by a ‘C-2 in 2016. (Photo: Takao Kadokami)

 

 

Arakawa 2 being put through its paces on a hazy day at Honda Airport in Saitama, May 2005.

A fine shot of Air Rescue Shiga’s distinctive AS365N3 in action on Mount Ibuki, Maibara, in
February 2014. (Photo: Alpsdake via Wikimedia Commons)

 

 

(Photo: @阿久津くんとジクサー。via Twitter @gogogixxer150)

The Bell 412EP that was the predecessor of Tochigi’s AW139 during a display at
JGSDF Utsunomiya in May 2013.

Tokushima took delivery of BK117C-2 JA109A in September 2017. (Photo: KHI)

The unit’s initial equipment, BK-117C-1 JA109R, at the Tokushima air show in September 2016.
(Photo: JMSDF Tokushima AB)

The first Uzushio (Whirlpool), photographed from the control tower at Komatsushima on the
day of the base’s air show in July 2017. (Photo: Hiro via Twitter @hirorin88JMSDF) 

 

 

 

 Retracting the undercarriage, the pilot of AS365N2 Mogami (the name of a local river) increases
airspeed on takeoff from Yamagata airport in May 2011. This aircraft was replaced by the
AW139 after 17 years’ sterling service,. (Photo: contri via Wikimedia Commons)

 

(Photo [Chofu airport, Tokyo, Jan. 2020]: Wilco via Twitter @Wilco11886715)