The entire left side of a parked B-1B Lancer bomber at Dyess Air Force Base was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived after the aircraft caught fire April 20 during routine maintenance.  

More details about the fire were revealed in a May 10 Dyess AFB story  about the performance of crew members of the base's 7th Civil Engineer Squadron Fire and Emergency Services using new ultra-high-pressure firefighting vehicles.

Two maintenance personnel were treated at an Abilene hospital for non-life-threatening injuries the night of the fire and were back home recovering the next day, according to previous Dyess AFB releases. 

In 2020, the base fire department received two 3,000-gallon UHP Rosenbauer Panthers firefighting vehicles.

"There were many criticisms of the vehicle," the article by Chief Master Sgt. Charles Clawson, fire chief, stated. "... One of the criticisms was that UHP water streams did not hold up in windy conditions, nor did they knock down the heat as the old vehicles did."

The firefighting squadron also has a 500-gallon rapid intervention vehicle and a 1,500-gallon traditional high-volume aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicle.

Dyess AFB firefighters had to develop tactics to maximize the UHP vehicles' operations, according to the article. The crews in early 2021 began conducting monthly two "live-fire" training events.

One of the lessons learned in the new training was that the Panther vehicles "will quickly control and often wholly suppress a JP-8 fire," the article said, referring to a form of jet fuel.

The new techniques were proving effective not only in live-fire training but also "multiple real-world brakes and hydraulic fires," the article stated. 

The lessons learned were tested when the base firefighters were dispatched at 10:03 p.m. April 20 to the B-1B fire, the article stated.

Crews arrived two minutes later to see flames from the aircraft extending 50-75 feet into the air. 

One Panther vehicle approached the front of the vehicle to discharge water "directly at what appeared to be the main seat of the fire, the No. 1 engine," the article stated. 

A few seconds later, the second Panther vehicle approached from the front of the aircraft between the first Panther and the fuselage.

The second Panther crew used its bumper turret "to begin pushing the flames away from the fuselage and attacking the ground fires," the article stated.

The rapid intervention vehicle moved to the aircraft's rear "to push flames away from the fuselage and extinguish ground fires," the article stated. 

The Panther crews determined foam systems were not needed because of the effectiveness of the water-only systems, the article stated.

Another team was deployed to provide medical aid to "two injured maintenance personnel," the article stated. 

Firefighters had the fire extinguished within seven minutes of the initial report, and all the responding vehicles were more than half full at the end of the incident.

"The firefighters at Dyess AFB have a new outlook on the effectiveness of UHP vehicles," the article stated.

The Reporter-News is seeking more information from Dyess AFB public affairs on the fire and the status of the damaged bomber. 

Laura Gutschke is a general assignment reporter and food columnist and manages online content for the Reporter-News.  If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com.