The retardant drop

After the retardant is loaded, there is one thing that may be done before take off. That is, the ground crew who loaded the retardant onto the plane will wash down the side of the plane. This is necessary because the retardant will oxidize the paint and metal if it is not washed away. The ground crew moves away, the pilot is cleared to start the engine and then cleared for take off.

Moving to the fire itself, and before getting to the drop, I need to discuss two important people, One is the incident commander (IC). According to the glossary of fire terminology from the National Wildfire Coordinating Group, the incident commander is the “individual responsible for the management of all operations at the incident site.” The air coordinator is in an airplane flying overhead and is thus able to get a bigger view of the fire than the IC on the ground. The air coordinator looks at conditions that will affect the drop such as wind direction, hazards such as powerlines and trees, and if and how the drop will aid the fire fighting crews on the ground.

For example, the IC may ask for an anchor point on one of the flanks of the fire and allow the air coordinator or air operations (AirOps) to determine the optimal plan for the retardant drops. After AirOps has decided on the drop, they will tell the air tanker pilot exactly where to make the drop along with how much retardant to drop. Sometimes the pilot will make a dry run before making the actual drop, especially in cases where the pilot has not flown in the area on prior occasions. When the pilot is not familiar with the area, a dry run allows the pilot to scope out potential hazards that AirOps might have missed, look for escape routes, and get a feel for how the terrain might affect the wind. After the dry run, if any, is done, the actual retardant drop is made.

I would again like to thank TL Stein for our e-mail correspondence discussing discussing what happens from the loading of the retardant to the time the drop is made.

Terminology from the National Wildfire Coordinating Group

Anchor Point: An advantageous location, usually a barrier to fire spread, from which to start building a fire line. An anchor point is used to reduce the chance of firefighters being flanked by fire.

Flanks of a Fire: The parts of a fire's perimeter that are roughly parallel to the main direction of spread.
Incident: A human-caused or natural occurrence, such as wildland fire, that requires emergency service action to prevent or reduce the loss of life or damage to property or natural resources.

Incident Command System (ICS: The combination of facilities, equipment, personnel, procedure and communications operating within a common organizational structure, with responsibility for the management of assigned resources to effectively accomplish stated objectives pertaining to an incident.



Incident Commander (IC): Individual responsible for the management of all incident operations at the incident site.