What is a borate bomber?
Borate was one of the first chemicals used, hence the derivation of the term borate bomber. In 1959, heavy airtankers, capable of carrying 2,000 gallons of fire retardant, were providing an effective tool in controlling wildfires.
What is dropped from planes to put out fires?
Most often, planes will drop a specially designed fire retardant called Phos-Chek, a mixture of mainly water and fertilizer, to help contain the spread of a fire.
How do fire bomber planes refill?
Some firefighting aircraft can refill their tanks in mid-flight, by flying down to skim the surface of large bodies of water. One example is the Bombardier CL-415. This is particularly useful in rural areas where flying back to an airbase for refills may take too much time.
How do helicopters drop water on fires?
They can be fitted with tanks or buckets to deliver water and fire retardant to the fireline. Large, heavy-lift helicopters can fill their water tanks with a snorkel that siphons water from lakes, rivers, or other sources. Smaller helicopters carry water in buckets that hold between 100-400 gallons of water.
How do firefighting planes pick up water?
The aircraft can scoop from sources that are only 6.5 feet deep and 300 feet wide. It can also easily scoop around river bends and navigate visible obstacles in the water. Scoopers are capable of dropping water on wildfires from a height of about 100 to 150 feet above ground level.
What is borate fire retardant made of?
Firebrake ZB is a unique zinc borate that combines the optimum effects of zinc and boron oxides with water release for flame-retardant formulations processable up to 554°F (290°C). It should be noted that Firebrake ZB does not contain intersitial water in this crystalline material.
Will Sand put out a fire?
Dr Fraser said that sand is not fully effective in extinguishing fires. “Even eight hours after a campfire has been extinguished with sand, it retains sufficient heat to cause a full-thickness burn after contact of just one second with the skin,” he said.
How does the 747 SuperTanker filled up with water?
There are few if any fire hydrants at the airport near the 747’s ramp so up to 14 large capacity fire trucks, large Type 1 engines and water tenders, shuttled water to keep the portable water tanks full. An airport crash-rescue truck pumped from the tanks through two hoses to the 747 SuperTanker.
Why is it called a Bambi Bucket?
So, how did the Bambi Bucket get its name? Some believe that the iconic orange water bucket was named after the famous animated deer. Others think that it honors a waitress named Bambi who worked in a pub in Boise, Idaho, where forest firefighters hung out.
How many gallons of water does a fire helicopter carry?
They can typically carry 700 gallons of water or retardant via a bucket or a snorkel that fills an internal tank.
What is the red fire retardant made of?
Commonly used fire retardant additives include mixtures of huntite and hydromagnesite, aluminium hydroxide, and magnesium hydroxide.
What is the orange fire retardant?
The retardant, called Phos-Chek, contains ammonium phosphate, a fertilizer. It also includes chemicals to regulate how the slurry drops, emulsifiers that render it gooey so it sticks to targets, and a coloring agent so air crews can track what they’ve dropped.
What is in Phos-Chek?
Phos-Chek D75-R and D75-F are mixtures of monoammonium phosphate and ammonium sulfate as the active fire retardant salts. D75-R contains iron oxide coloring and D75-F contains a fugitive coloring agent. They also contain viscosity stabilizers and corrosion inhibitors.
Is borate used to fight fires?
Borate Value Boric acid releases water as well to help extinguish the fire, but provides char forming value on the surface of the cellulose due to the presence of its boron value.
Is borate fire resistant?
In fact, borates not only retard flame and act as an anti-arcing agent, but also suppress smoke and afterglow.
Why do fire buckets have a round bottom?
Often they have a convex, protruding bottom. The rounded bottom results in a strong, directed stream of water when the water is thrown at the fire. The rounded-bottom bucket is far more efficient in launching the water at the fire than a flat bottom bucket.
How do water bombers fill up?
Airtankers or water bombers are fixed-wing aircraft fitted with tanks that can be filled on the ground at an air tanker base or, in the case of flying boats and amphibious aircraft, by skimming water from lakes, reservoirs, or large rivers.
What happened to the Air Tractor 802F fire boss?
May 22, 2015: an Air Tractor 802F Fire Boss amphibious air tanker, operated by Conair Aviation crashed battling a wildfire near Cold Lake, Alberta, killing the pilot.
What was the name of the B 25 bomber that crashed?
July 22, 1960: a North American B-25 Mitchell, N3446G SN 44-31466, operating as Tanker 66, impacted the earth during a water bombing run in Mill Canyon in the San Gabriel Mountains on the Magic Mountain Fire. The three crew members were killed.
What happened to the Beechcraft Baron?
The Beechcraft Baron was long used as a leadplane or air attack ship, but most were retired in 2003; more common now is the Beechcraft King Air and the Twin Commander 690.