The pelicandrom at Pierrefonds airport was officially inaugurated on October 14, in the presence of prefect Jérôme Filippini and André Thien Ah Koon, president of the Pierrefonds Mixed Union. The pelicandrome consists of a filling area and a system for manufacturing the retardant product, comprising a dosing mechanism between the water tank and that containing the retardant. Its name comes from the radio callsign of Canadair, Civil Security planes, which are called “Pelican”. As it happens, it's a different type of water bomber, a Dash 8, who is assigned to Reunion. The device should allow rapid filling of the plane which arrived on the island on October 6. Work on the pelicandrom, in the amount of 2,875 million euros, were mainly financed by the state, la Casud, the Civis, the Department and the Region.
