New bipartisan legislation introduced to the United States Congress could change the way that the U.S. fights wildfires. The bill, titled H.R. 3389 Emergency Wildfire Fighting Technology Act of 2023, would require the USDA and DOI to evaluate the ability of a Containerized Aerial Fire Fighting System (CAFFS) to fight wildfires.
In May, this bill was brought before a congressional subcommittee. Several individuals testified regarding the bill. Among those who testified was Rick Goddard, CEO of Caylym, a company that produces a CAFFS called the Guardian.
“HR 3389 would provide fire crews with new wildfire fighting technologies like CAFFS, thus providing a rapid surge response as they are able to battle to save lives, homes, and businesses, while battling to stop the awful destruction of our forest and the environment,” Goddard said while testifying.
If the United States does adopt the use of CAFFS to fight wildfires, the country will join several other countries worldwide that already use the Guardian System, including Israel, Greece and Thailand. Most recently, Bulgaria placed an order of Guardians, and two Caylym representatives traveled to train the Bulgarian Air
Force on how to use the system.
Caylym leaders are excited to showcase the Guardian at the Paris Air Show 2023, hopeful that more countries will soon adopt the technology.
