New water bomber joins provincial fleet

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

The Minister of Transportation and Works, David Brazil, said the new CL-415 water bomber increases the province's fire-fighting capacity.

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

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

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