The International Aerial Firefighting Award is presented annually to recognise a significant contribution by an individual or organisation to aerial firefighting.
Aiming to honour diligence, dedication and conscientiousness in aerial firefighting, the Award was inaugurated in honour of the late Walt Darran, who was a pioneer and advocate for advances in aerial firefighting. Being a highly experienced S2-T air tanker pilot and former highly decorated US Navy aviator from California, USA, Walt was a constant and passionate advocate for safety and improvement in the international aerial firefighting community.
Award Nomination Process
The International Aerial Firefighting Award is a peer award, awarded by the global aerial firefighting community. The Award Committee now calls for nominations from the aerial firefighting community for the International Aerial Firefighting Award 2018.
• Nominations may be made by any individual or organisation who can reasonably be considered by the Committee to be a member of the global aerial firefighting or wildland firefighting communities.
• Individuals or organisations may not nominate themselves.
• Nominations must be accompanied by a clear statement outlining the reasons why the nominator considers the candidate to be eligible for the Award and describing the contribution made to aerial firefighting.
• Nominations must clearly identify the nominator. Contact details for the nominator must be provided.
• Nominations must be made to the person/organisation specified by the committee, in each call for nominations, to receive nominations on behalf of the committee.
• Nominations must be received by the closing date specified by the committee in each call for nominations. Award Committee The nominations and resultant winner are administered by the International Award Committee – an independent international consortium from the International Fire Aviation Working Group (IFAWG) and Associated Aerial Firefighters. The Award is sponsored by Tangent Link Ltd, who agreed to provide publicity and the stage setting for the global aerial firefighting community.
Who Can Be Nominated?
• Any person who has made a significant contribution to furthering the safety and/or efficiency of aerial firefighting
• Any organisation that has made an outstanding contribution to furthering the safety and/or the efficiency of aerial firefighting
About Walt Darran
The Award was inaugurated in honour of the late Walt Darran (1940-2013) who truly embodied the Aviator pioneering spirit and continued to be active in the international aerial firefighting community right up to his untimely death in 2013.
After nineteen years seasons as an air tanker captain, Walt finally retired from flying aerial firefighting missions in 2009 and took up the mantle of President of the Association of Aerial Firefighters, now known as the Associated Aerial Firefighters (AAF), committing the last decade of his life to promoting training and improving flight safety for aerial firefighting pilots.
Submit Your Nomination
To submit your nomination, please complete the Award nomination form and return to Kate Niven from Tangent link at kniven@tangentlink.com. The closing date for nominations is 2nd March 2018. The Award committee will convene after the close of nominations to consider nominations and select the winner.
The Award will be presented during the ceremony at the Aerial Firefighting Conference Dinner taking place on 13th March 2018 as a part of Aerial Firefighting North America 2018 in Sacramento CA, USA.
About Aerial Firefighting North America 2018
Organised by Tangent Link Ltd, Aerial Firefighting North America 2018 returns to California for its 10th anniversary this year. Staging over three days between 12 and 14 March 2018 in Sacramento, this global event features the conference, exhibition, static display, live demonstrations, Award ceremony and live CBX exercise.
For further information on Aerial Firefighting North America 2018, please visit www.aerial-firefighting-northamerica.com
To find out more about Tangent Link, please visit www.tangentlink.com.
