New water bomber joins provincial fleet

The newest addition to Newfoundland and Labrador'swater bomber fleet was unveiled in St. John's on Friday.

The Minister of Transportation and Works,David Brazil, said the newCL-415waterbomberincreases theprovince's fire-fightingcapacity.

"We wanted to ensure that we have adequate assets for our forest firefightingpotential," said Brazil. "It's another ability for us to be able to ensure people are safe, particularlyaroundforestfire season."

The province earmarked $17.7million in Budget 2015 for this plane, bringing theoverall fleet investment to $150 million.

The fleet now has five state-of-the-art planes. The newest will be stationed in Gander. The remainderwill belocated inWabush, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Deer Lake and St. John's.