A firefighter-invented hydrant for helicopters is boosting response times for urban fires

The Heli-Hydrant enables helicopters to fill up faster for urban fires rather than flying to sometimes distant lakes or ponds.

Mark Whaling and a crew raced up and down a hill in a tanker truck as they battled a wildfire in Los Angeles County, scrambling to get water from a street hydrant in time to stay ahead of flames moving up a ridge. A helicopter flew in to drop water, but it had to fly a long distance to refill—and a fire that might have been stopped went on to destroy homes.