Global Demand for Fire Bosses Surges as Dauntless Air Expands Fleet

Record number of recent Fire Boss contracts and global orders for the aircraft reflect the growing interest in scooper-centric aerial firefighting strategies.

Dauntless Air, an aerial firefighting company dedicated to protecting people, land and property from the devastation of wildfires, today announced the addition of five aircraft to its industry-leading Fire Boss fleet. The growth comes amid increasing global recognition of the effectiveness of scooper-centric aerial firefighting strategies and the superior performance of the Fire Boss in wildfire operations.

In the United States, demand for the Fire Boss – also known as the Single Engine Scooper (SES) – has reached unprecedented levels, with a record number of new Fire Boss solicitations issued this past off-season. Now in the U.S. there are a total of 29 Fire Bosses, which meet the compliance requirements of the Office of Aviation Services (OAS), in operation across 24 exclusive-use (EU) and 10 call-when-needed (CWN) contracts. This is up from 15 EU and 7 CWN Fire Boss contracts from the year before. As the most experienced, longest running, and largest operator of Fire Bosses, Dauntless holds a large majority of these contracts. Many of the new contracts begin earlier in the season than previous years and were issued by states that have never before issued an EU Single Engine Scooper contract. Internationally, fire agencies have ordered dozens of Fire Bosses to secure the future of their country’s aerial firefighting fleet. In just the past 24 months, officials in Greece have ordered a record-setting 31 Fire Bosses, while Turkey and Slovenia have secured manufacturer contracts for 15 and four aircraft, respectively. This global activity has also created additional demand on U.S. aerial firefighting companies with Fire Bosses to operate in Europe.

“In the U.S. and globally, fire agencies are acting on what we have long known: the Fire Boss is a game-changer in wildfire suppression,” said Brett L’Esperance, CEO of Dauntless Air. “Growing demand for the Single Engine Scooper is no surprise, especially when it’s compared with the only other fixed-wing scooper available – which is 10 times more expensive to acquire and operate than the Fire Boss. As Fire Boss demand continues to grow, Dauntless is committed to ensuring that our fleet matches the need, and that our ongoing investments in training and technology enable us to remain the safest, most experienced, most reliable Fire Boss operator globally.”

Dauntless Air Enters 2023 Wildfire Season 17 Fire Bosses Strong; Completes Rigorous 2-Week Annual Training

Dauntless Air, an aerial firefighting company deeply dedicated to protecting people, land and property from the devastation of wildfires, today announced that it will enter the 2023 wildfire season with 17 Fire Bosses -- nearly double the size of its fleet five years ago. 9 of Dauntless’ water-scooping planes were used during the company’s 2-week annual training, which concluded last week in Cleburne, Texas. This industry-leading program—which spans piloting, ground support and maintenance training—has helped to develop one of the most highly-skilled and tenured Fire Boss pilot corps in the world and achieve 99.3 percent average fleet availability since 2018, underscoring the caliber and reliability of Dauntless’ Fire Boss operations.

“We aim to be the safest, most effective and most reliable ally possible in the battle against wildfires,” said Brett L’Esperance, Dauntless CEO. “We do that by attracting and retaining team members who identify with our core values of service, teamwork and professionalism; continuously expanding and upgrading our Fire Boss fleet so we’re bringing the best tools to every mission; and investing in our extensive company training program that has set the standard globally for Fire Boss excellence.”

For the third year in a row, the Dauntless Fire Boss training program spanned two weeks and involved every person in the company, including pilots, mechanics, crew chiefs, leadership and administrative staff. The 2023 program exceeded industry standards in three key areas.

Pilots logged the most pre-season flight hours of any aerial firefighting operator. Dauntless pilots new to the Fire Boss logged three times the industry standard for pre-season flight hours, flying roughly 25 hours each solo and with an experienced pilot in the company’s two-seat Fire Boss training aircraft. Combined, all Dauntless pilots flew 150.8 pre-season hours, exceeding the company’s own industry-leading standard of 141 total hours set in 2022. During that time, pilots completed 844 scoops and dropped 518,601 gallons of water.