DARTS aircraft will be used in time of local, state and national disasters.  The disasters that happen the most throughout the United States and Canada are those caused by fire.  For the last 100 years forest fires have been successively fought throughout the United States and Canada; so successfully that we are now a victim of our success.  Fire is a part of the natural ecosystem that cleans up the forest of deadfall, and returns nutrients to the soil, and kills old diseased trees, and leaves open spaces with fertile soil for new growth. Fire also limits creatures populations that are the natural predators of pine forests, namely the Pine Beetle.  As with most things in nature, if one thing in the ecosystem is out of balance (ie. lack of fire), then something will come in to replace it, in an attempt to create equilibrium, in this case it is the pine beetle. Unfortunately, in the last 100 years we have also built homes, and towns in this forest that is designed by nature to burn.

Megafires

With the extreme fire danger that now exists within the  Rocky Mountain west, because of drought, and pine beetle killed trees, a new term has been coined; Mega-fires.  These fires have the potential of being so large, and cover tens of thousands of acres, that to fight them all that can be done is to attempt to contain them, and let the fire extinguish itself from lack of fuel.

Fire mitigation techniques such as logging, controlled burning, are all part of a solution to limit the danger, and possible damage from these mega fires.  But with larger, and more frequent fires within the Rocky Mountain West, fire crews must be transported faster, safer, and more efficiently than they presently are; so damage can be limited. At this time crews are transported primarily by van, truck and infrequently by commercial aircraft.

FORCE MULTIPLIER:

This is a military term meaning, a factor that dramatically increases (hence "multiplies") the effectiveness of an item or group.  DARTS Inc. will have the ability to transport many fire teams great distances, and place them right near the scene of the fire, within a far shorter time then it would take the same amount of personnel to arrive via conventional means.  Thereby DARTS would have the ability to multiply force strength in a much shorter time span.  Also DARTS does not have the legal constraints of options such as National Guard unit, or security requirements of the airlines, and can deploy within a very short time from being requested. 

DARTS aircraft and the professionalism of our crews will be able to deliver far greater speed with than the options that the fire crews are presently using; while not compromising safety or the crews rest rules.  The fire crews will be able to deploy and be on the scene of a fire within hours rather than days.  The fire crews will also be able to swap out for fresh crews without taking crews off a fire for days, and in some cases weeks.  

DARTS manages response efforts for all natural disasters including Wildland Fires, Hurricanes, Tornados, Tsunamis, Earthquakes, Floods, Mudslides, Eruptions, Storms, Blizzards and Avalanches. DARTS is the fastest, safest and most efficient option for transporting equipment and first responders by air. DARTS mobilizes rapidly with aircraft and crew and has the ability to operate in extreme conditions.

DARTS: Disaster Air Response Teams is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide safe, reliable, rapid, and affordable air support for humanitarian relief personnel. DARTS’ aircraft will transport emergency personnel and equipment into areas affected by natural and man-made disasters.