3 May 2023
The video featured above is from a 2019 story on Bill Garrison and his firefighting efforts.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (KSNW) — Firefighters tackling wildfires in south-central Kansas will have additional help from the air.
Businessman and volunteer firefighter Bill Garrison arrived Tuesday evening at Hutchinson Regional Airport with Tanker 154, a Grunman S-2 Tanker that he purchased at auction from Mesa Air in December. He has spent several months getting it ready to fly back to Kansas
Garrison, owns Ag Air Service and was first enlisted to help fight wildfires in 2017. He started with his crop-dusting planes but would go on to purchase Tanker 95, another Grunman S-2 Tanker that had previously been owned by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
“Tanker 95 is currently contracted through the Kansas Forest Service. Garrison’s firefighting services have been utilized on large wildfires in Reno County since 2017 using smaller planes, then Tanker 95 in 2020,” said Adam Weishaar, Reno Country Emergency Management Director. “This second air tanker will be a valuable asset to Reno county and the state of Kansas to assist with aerial firefighting. We are very fortunate to have an air tankers stationed and available in Reno County.”
Garrison’s planes are used on a contracted as-needed basis by the Kansas Forest Service to help fight wildfires in the state.