flight safety in fighting wildfires

Every organization I know will always tout safety as of the utmost importance. The question is—is that really true?

Here’s what ensuring safety does:

• It is not the most efficient

• It takes longer

• It takes more resources

• Training is required

• Standards are tougher

• Personnel costs go up

• It costs more money to operate

With these elements in mind, see this article, Trump considering plan to change how the country fights wildfires

Much of the article is about changing the strategy of fighting wildfires. A primary change is getting to a wildfire within 30 minutes. That can only be done via an aircraft.

Then there is this, “One of the architects of the plan is U.S. Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-Montana), according to state and federal officials familiar with the proposal. Sheehy is a former Navy SEAL who founded an aviation company, Bridger Aerospace, that’s contracted with the Forest Service and Interior Department to assist in firefighting. Sheehy stepped down as chief executive last year but still owns stock of the publicly traded company, according to his Senate financial disclosure from last year.

Sheehy’s office has discussed the proposal with state officials, according to a local official with knowledge of the outreach, and one of his aides is listed as an author on a copy of the draft order. Some of the ideas are similar to legislation Sheehy has proposed in the Senate, including creating a new national wildland firefighting force. Officials said there are different versions of the draft circulating.”

While fraud, waste and abuse has been in the news of late, I think you might add unethical behavior, corruption and just plain greed to the list of things that should be eliminated—when you are saying “safety is of utmost importance.”