2 p.m. EDT August 18, 2021
A C-130 drops boxes of water on a wildfire in Jerusalem, Israel Aug. 17, 2021. Photo by Kobi Richter, Israel Fire & Rescue Authority.Firefighters in Israel used a C-130 to drop boxes of water on a large fire Jerusalem this week.
The fire was very large, compared to other fires in the country, and burned 6,000 acres. More than 1,500 firefighters assisted for three days before they stopped the spread.
We are working on getting confirmation, but the photo at the top of this article shows what appears to be either PCADS or Caylym/Guardian water boxes being dropped on the fire by a C-130.
UPDATE at 7:52 p.m. EDT August 18, 2021. We heard from Rick Goddard of Caylym who told us the boxes were their products. He said 16 of the Guardians holding a total of about 4,200 gallons were loaded into the C-130, but the crew of the aircraft decided to drop them in two passes of 8 boxes each. The containers all had a "foam additive" and some had blue dye. Mr Goddard said, "The Guardian has been employed over wildfires every year starting in 2017 in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania, then Attica fire in Greece, and last year in the Peruvian Andes and Amazon basin. This year so far on fires in Macedonia, Peru and Israel."
PCADS. Walt Dorn, Flex Attack. Sacramento, March 22, 2016.
Caylym/Guardian. Michael Seaward & Rick Goddard, L to R. Sacramento. March 22, 2016.We wrote about the Caylym/Guardian boxes in 2013 on Wildfire Today.
The system consists of containers constructed of cardboard, plywood, a plastic bladder, and dozens of yards of straps. They hold 264 gallons each and are designed to be carried in military aircraft such as the C-130 or C-27 using the standard cargo system. The containers when empty weigh 100 pounds. After they leave the aircraft the container lids, attached by four straps, separate, and act like a parachute. The straps then put pressure on the plastic bladders, ripping them open, allowing the liquid to be dispersed. The 100 pounds of the other components, the plywood, and cardboard, fall to the ground tethered by the nylon straps. The plastic bladder, hopefully empty, falls separately.
If these were ever actually used on a wildfire, there would have to be an even greater emphasis than usual on removing firefighters and other personnel from the target area than there is now when only liquids fall from the sky. If a box failed to disperse the liquid, it would be deadly, as could be the plywood if the box was empty. In addition, the owner of the land would either have to be OK with leaving the debris from the containers in place after the drop in perpetuity, or crews would have to search the area and carry it out for disposal in a landfill. Debris removal would need to be included in the estimated costs of using a system like this, which could be difficult or even impossible in some areas, complicated by topography and vegetation. Depending on the climate, it could take many years or decades for the plastic bladder, plywood, cardboard, and straps to decompose if it were not removed.
Caylym system containers exiting an aircraft. Screen grab from Caylym video.Here is an eight-second video showing a box drop in Israel. It was uploaded to YouTube August 17, 2021.
In addition to dropping water, the Caylym system delivers the plastic bladder, plywood, cardboard, and straps.
In addition to the boxes, Israel has a fleet of 14 AT-802Fs managed by the Israeli National Police. We have a report that after the fire broke out the fire fighting agency contracted for six additional aircraft from Chim Nir to work with the Air Tractors. They were PT6-powered Turbo Thrush aircraft that are normally used for aerial spraying but had a fire fighting role before they were replaced by the Air Tractors.
20 Comments
Interesting! Thinking outside the Box!
. . . So to speak . . .
All good ideas begin with just one . . . to try and maybe . . . just maybe . . .
Wow! Not a bad idea. Sounds cheep. 4,200 gallons is a good amount of fire retardant per drop. Sounds like a massive modification to the C-130 is not needed. Quick and cheep. Good going.
🤣🤣🤣
Somebody actually did it! Hahaha!!!!
Somebody managed to con a foreign govt into thinking this was a great idea!!
It all began dropping water bags… but not keen of the potential of sheets of plywood and other FOD raining down on structures, equipment or people. A quick fix for C-130 types but not something I would be bidding contracts with.
Someone once called this a “lame-ass” idea. Better yet how about delivering 844 5 gal cubies via C130 rear ramp? 😂
Seriously, this is a thing?
Ditto with Doc.
I wonder what the cost per mixed litre is?? Surely the most expensive delivery option out there (apart from throwing them out the back of a 747…..) Definately the worst ecologically.
I wonder what the cost per mixed litre is?? Surely the most expensive delivery option out there (apart from throwing them out the back of a 747…..) Definitely the worst ecologically.
I added this to the article about five hours after it was initially published:
UPDATE at 7:52 p.m. EDT August 18, 2021. We heard from Rick Goddard of Caylym who told us the boxes were their products. He said 16 of the Guardians holding a total of about 4,200 gallons were loaded into the C-130, but the crew of the aircraft decided to drop them in two passes of 8 boxes each. The containers all had a “foam additive” and some had blue dye.
Mr Goddard said, “The Guardian has been employed over wildfires every year starting in 2017 in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania, then Attica fire in Greece, and last year in the Peruvian Andes and Amazon basin. This year so far on fires in Macedonia, Peru and Israel.”
Wow! Not a bad idea. Sounds cheep. 4,200 gallons is a good amount of fire retardant per drop. Sounds like a massive modification to the C-130 is not needed. Quick and cheep. Good going.
Seems environmentally friendly, safe, and cost effective…
I’m not sure it meets any of those criteria.
Firefighter safety first, fire out second (containment) . . . ecology last.
Well that’s definitely……. an idea…..
Eh? It’s an “idea.” Not necessarily a good idea, or even worthy of consideration. But nevertheless, it’s an idea. Perhaps we could expand on it and finally empty the latrine.
As one old friend always said, just before bed, “Time to _ on the fire.”
I wonder if they are using biodegradable bags like the bags used in grocery stores. If they are at least one problem is solved. With my luck though, someone would forget to tell me a 130, was coming in for a drop and one of these things would land on my head. This idea does seem to have potential though, especially for countries that do not have a dedicated tanker fleet. Not something I would have thought of but with more “tweaking” it just might move past the “you gotta be kiddin me” stage.
Perhaps ground troops are alerted to be out of harms way (where the ‘burn’ actually posits heaviest). New tech is always in the pipeline as the sys is finessed. Gotta try all existing mat’l and logistics to test the system asap to establish a ‘fault tree’ for success.
The problem in Israel is that we look elsewhere (in the US too often) for what we could have right next to our home. It is time for the Israel fire service to build its own doctrine on fighting forest fires. What is done in France or the USA is out of proportion to what we could do in Israel. And if we scratch a little, why are the firefighting planes managed by the Police ??? Why is there no specific Forest Fire engine? What about maintenance actions or brush clearing around homes? The Air Force has a large number of helicopters (Type Bell 205 or more) easily fitted with a Bambi Bucket or other. There are also C130s available. Except that the Army does not give and even does not lend anything. And the firefighters are managing with the means at hand. I was on the first great Carmel fire in 2010 on a mission with the French Canadair, there has been work accomplished since that time but more work is needed to get everything in place and in order.
Michel CORREARD
President of France-Israel Firefighters Association
France
Comments are closed for this article!