Putting Out Fires Published July 30, 2014 By MSgt Julie Meintel 45th Airlift Wing TMF Fall 2014 -- By , 4, WPAFB OH Every year, often in the dry heat of summer, we see many stories in the news about wildfires that burn out of control, scorching millions of acres of land, destroying forests and wildlife, and putting thousands of people out of their homes. I remember being in Colorado Springs in the summer of 2012, just after a wildfire had devastated the area. Vast swaths of mountainside, normally heavily blanketed with green trees, were burnt black, and only bare branches were left standing. Pictures of fires roaring just behind the arches of the Air Force Academy's chapel made the rounds on social media sites like Facebook and Instagram. From 2004 to 2013 an average of 44,300 wildfires burned 3.7 million acres of land across the United States. Wildfires cause widespread destruction, personal injury--and sometimes death for those who don't or can't get out of the fire's path in time. Often those people are the same ones fighting to get the fire contained. While local and state agencies do their best to ensure that firefighting capability is strong, there are times when a little extra help really comes in handy. In the early 1970s, Congress decided to combine the strength of the existing local resources with the flexibility and equipment the military possessed to add another weapon to the firefighting arsenal. They created the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System (MAFFS) program in response to wildfires burning uncontrollably on Air Force and privately owned property. It is a team effort between the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of Defense: the Forest Service owns the firefighting systems, and the military owns the C-130 aircraft that provide the transportation and has the aircrews and the maintenance and support personnel to move these missions. MAFFS functions as an arm of the Forest Service, which contracts with private companies to provide air tankers to drop fire retardant as a part of wildfire suppression efforts. When wildfire season is in full swing and all other firefighting resources are already committed, that's where military C-130 H and J model aircraft come in. MAFFS are portable delivery systems inserted right into the aircraft without the need for a lot of structural modification. The C-130s are converted into air tankers when they get the call, usually from multi-agency emergency personnel or the governor of the affected state. MAFFS are an important component of the Forest Service, because they provide a means for the Forest Service to perform a sort of "surge" when fires are burning out of control and all other firefighting assets are already in use. Although authorities consider other factors when deciding to call in MAFFS, the main criteria is simply that all other assets are committed and help is needed quickly. Standard agreement with the Forest Service is that MAFFS aircraft will be in position within 48 hours of callout, and prepared to execute within 72 hours, though MAFFS wings often beat that requirement. Eight MAFFS are ready for operational use, and four C-130 units are trained to fly the missions: the 153rd Airlift Wing (Wyoming Air National Guard), the 145th Airlift Wing (North Carolina National Guard), the 146th Airlift Wing (California Air National Guard), and the 302nd Airlift Wing (Air Force Reserve). Given that MAFFS crews are almost exclusively Guard or Reserve crews, the majority of whom trained and flew on active duty, the experience level and number of flight hours is high, averaging 3,500 flight hours in each crew position. This is not the number of MAFFS-exclusive flight hours, but the crews that fly these missions are highly experienced and highly qualified. They receive annual classroom and flight training specific to MAFFS procedures and equipment, in addition to the normal aircrew training for the C-130. Conditions for firefighting missions are challenging, requiring crews to fly the aircraft low, slow, and heavy near wildfires. Typically, MAFFS crews do not directly suppress or fight fires; air tankers reduce the intensity and slow the growth of wildfires so that firefighters on the ground can build containment lines around them. MAFFS systems are capable of discharging their entire 3,000-gallon load of fire retardant out the back of the airplane in less than five seconds, covering an area of a quarter-mile long by 100 feet wide. They can also divide the load to allow greater flexibility, depending on the situation, and crews can refill the systems in about 10-12 minutes once the load is completely discharged. This versatile firefighting system has definitely proven its value. Over the last 10 years, military C-130s equipped with MAFFS have delivered a total of approximately 8.5 million gallons of retardant on wildfires, an average of about 850,000 gallons per year. In 2011, the Forest Service switched from the original MAFFS systems, which were designed in the 1970s, to a newer, more advanced version. The old-style MAFFS are now known as "Legacy" systems and will be used mostly as spares until their service life expires. The newer MAFFS II systems rely less on specialized ground equipment and are their own self-contained units. This enables the MAFFS II to use existing tanker bases and reduce flight time to and from fires, making it more efficient and reducing overall costs at the same time. The fire retardant used in the MAFFS II is cleaner and more environmentally friendly; it also has a higher concentration and is more effective in drawing the fire containment lines than the Legacy version. As long as wildfires burn, MAFFS will continue to work side by side with local firefighting resources to put them out as quickly as possible and minimize any damage. To see MAFFS in action, look on YouTube for videos depicting their mission.