Port Hills fire: The man conducting the intricate aerial response

It's a job the people of Christchurch probably haven't thought of, but many would now be grateful for.

Paul Devlin is working alongside Fire and Emergency NZ to control the air response to the fire in Canterbury's Port Hills from the ground, a conductor of sorts.

"It is a bit like that, a bit of an orchestra," he told Seven Sharp as helicopters hummed in the sky above.

"What my role is, is to convey the tactics that the people on the ground, the operations people that manage the fire want to happen... So making sure the air crew are fulfilling those requirements and supporting the hard workers on the ground."

The Banks Peninsula park ranger sits above the ground at a height of about 2500 feet, or 762 metres.

"That means that the fire ground is visible below us."

He said the job is no small feat.

More on this topic

Port Hills blaze: FENZ focus on securing perimeter, cooling hotspots

Fire and Emergency aims to "create a 50 metre wide edge around the whole 24km perimeter of the fire ground before stronger winds develop tomorrow".

New Zealand

February 17, 2024

2:22

Family returns to fire-ravaged Port Hills property

A container home used by Dave Joseph’s niece Anna Spark was in one of the areas destroyed by flames.

New Zealand

February 16, 2024

4:35

"So a lot of the time helicopter and aircraft are the initial response as ground crew get lined up, and it can be pretty chaotic with 15, in this case 17 aircraft, all in quite a controlled amount of airspace."

Watch Paul's story in the clip at the top of the page.