Photo Credit: Lisa Irish/The Daily Courier
Phos-Chek Air Attack Team Jay Negri, right, and Todd Negri, left, show where they mix the fire retardant at the Prescott National Forest's Fire Center at the Prescott Municipal Airport.
June 24, 2013 6:01:00 AM
Lisa Irish, The Daily Courier
When an air tanker lands at the Prescott National Forest's Fire Center at the Prescott Municipal Airport, it takes Phos-Chek Air Attack Team Jay and Todd Negri just seven minutes to fill an entire load of up to 2,000 gallons of fire retardant weighing about 17,800 pounds.
"One time an air tanker came in, we filled it, and about 20 minutes later as we're filling another plane, it landed and I thought we just filled that one, he said yeah we did, and we filled it again so it could go out on another drop," Manager Jay Negri said.
Just outside the runway fence are the tanks with the fire retardant concentrate and the water it's mixed with. On the runway are two areas with a light red spatter, where they connect the hose to the planes' tanks.
"The first day (of Doce firefighting efforts) we filled four air tankers with 23 loads," Jay said. "We filled 27 loads the next day, and one load Friday when an air tanker flying from California to Colorado was diverted to help out on the Doce fire."
The larger air tankers fly out of Gateway Airport in Mesa, Todd said.
Planes will fly in to Prescott to pick up retardant to use on fires on the Prescott, Kaibab, Coconino, and Tonto forests, Prescott National Forest Assistant Public Information Officer Noel Fletcher said.
Since the Doce fire began, they've provided 109,000 gallons of fire retardant, Jay said.
The fire retardant is dropped just outside the fire and coats plants, homes, and other possible fire fuels in the fire's path with a red-colored chemical mixture designed to slow the fire by making those items less likely to ignite, Jay said.
The mixture includes iron oxide, which contributes to the red color, fertilizer, salt, a clay mixture and other items, Jay said.
"The fire retardant sticks to the vegetation and other fuels and helps the firefighters on the ground by helping cool down the fire and slowing it," Jay said. The retardant helps take away some fuel by making it less likely to ignite.
"The retardant is heavy, so before it's dropped firefighters are careful to go into the burnt-out black areas," Negri said. "We've heard that firefighters being splattered with it consider it a red badge of courage."
The first 100,000 gallons of retardant costs $3.60 a gallon, while the next 100,000 gallons is $1.20 a gallon, and pilot fees, plane, fire retardant and water expenses have contributed to the estimated to $4.3 million cost (as of Saturday) of fighting the Doce fire, Todd said.
Jay has been doing this for the past 22 years and has worked with his son Todd as his assistant for the past five years.
"This is our opportunity to provide support to the firefighters as they do their work, and help them save people, property and our community," Jay said. "It's exciting too. I get a huge kick out of seeing the air tankers. We've even had pilots thank us for our service."
They work from May through August, and their contract can be extended into September if needed.
"I feel like I'm helping to make a difference with what we do here," Todd said.
Source: http://www.dcourier.com
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