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For Release: Immediate
Date: October 29, 2003 |
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For additional information contact: Specialist Robert Jordan North Carolina National Guard Office of Public Affairs 4105 Reedy Creek Road Raleigh, NC 27607-6410 Phone:(919) 664-6244
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For Release: Immediate
Date: October 29, 2003 |
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For additional information contact: Specialist Robert Jordan North Carolina National Guard Office of Public Affairs 4105 Reedy Creek Road Raleigh, NC 27607-6410 Phone:(919) 664-6244
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CHARLOTTE – In support of Joint Task Force – Fire Fighting, the North Carolina Air National Guard launched two C-130H cargo aircraft to support fire fighting operations in California.
The aircraft, equipped with the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System (MAFFS), join 12 flight crew, 18 maintenance and five support personnel pre-positioned at Channel Island, Calif. They are lead by Col. David Hatley, commander of the 145th Airlift Wing. The aircraft took off from Charlotte-Douglas International Airport at approximately 6 a.m. today. Crews and aircraft were ready for operations by 10 a.m. Pacific time.
Hatley is also serving as the Deputy Commander of the Joint Task Force – Fire Fighting. The task force faces the challenge of fighting fires consuming 6,000 acres an hour over a 45-mile fire line. Only four units operate MAFFS.
The MAFFS mission equips C-130s with a fire fighting apparatus that is loaded into the aircraft’s cargo area. The MAFFS unit itself is a series of pressurized tanks that hold 3,000 gallons of flame-retardant liquid called Phos-Chek. Directed by ground crews and led to the fire site by a U.S. Forest service lead plane, MAFFS aircraft drop retardant along the leading edge of a fire to block the spread of flames. Since 1974, MAFFS has saved land, lives and property from wildland fires in the United States and abroad. MAFFS is only activated when all other air tanker resources are committed.
In addition to North Carolina’s unit, the Air National Guard’s 146th AW from Channel Islands, Calif., the 153rd AW from Cheyenne, Wy., and the Air Force Reserve’s 302nd AW from Colorado Springs, Colo., make up the MAFFS force.
The length of this mission is as yet undecided and will depend on the demands of the fire situation.
For related information on MAFFS please see the following websites: North Carolina Air National Guard: www.ncchar.ang.af.mil U.S. Air Force: www.af.mil Air National Guard: www.ang.af.mil U.S. Forest Service MAFFS page: www.fs.fed.us/fire/aviation/maffs/
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