Aerial Ignition (DAID) uses what?

• A. Ping pong balls containing potassium permanganate injected with ethylene glycol
• B. Gas mixed with soap forms a jelly
• C. Hollow clay bombs
• D. Leaf litter

Answer: (A)

Aerial ignition with DAID relies on a lightweight, explosive-like payload that is released from an aircraft to start the burn on the ground. The payload is typically a small ping-pong ball packed with potassium permanganate and ethylene glycol; when the ball breaks open in flight, the oxidizer and fuel react to produce a flame that ignites the surrounding leaf litter or duff. Dropping many of these spheres in a planned pattern creates ignition points across the area, allowing burn teams to influence fire spread, intensity, and direction from above. Other options aren’t used for aerial ignition: hollow clay bombs represent an older or different device, leaf litter is simply the material being ignited, and a gas with soap forming a jelly isn’t a standard aerial ignition method.