News
Planes from Peterson head to fight fires
Posted: Sep 10, 2011 5:28 PM by Dr. Anya Winslow
Updated: Sep 12, 2011 9:01 AM
Two Department of Defense C-130s equipped with U.S. Forest Service Modular Airbome Fire Fighting Systems (MAFFS) head to fight fires in Texas.
The MAFFSA are special tanks that hold 3000 gallons of fire retardant or water and can discharge the entire load in less than five seconds over an area one-quarter of a mile long by 60 feet wide.
Almost thirty active duty and reservists from Colorado Springs are headed to Texas for the mission. They do not know when they will return.
"This is an exciting mission for us. Every time we get called up, we always have a lot of volunteers. We're ready to go. It's what we trained for and we enjoy doing these missions. It's great that we know we're helping people," says Lt. Col. Jim DeVere.
DeVere also mentioned his team's efforts are not to put out the fire but to make sure it is contained.
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