UT Tyler Professor Assists in Fighting Fire

Dr. Mark JohnsonDr. Mark Johnson, UT Tyler assistant professor of music, stepped out of his regular 9-to-5 role by helping to fight a ground fire. A captain in the United States Air Force Auxiliary, Dr. Johnson does volunteer work with the Tyler Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol.

Due to the lack of rain, Captain Johnson’s squadron was using routine flights to watch for fires. During one of these missions on Jan. 7, Captain Johnson initially did not find any ground fires to report. On a hunch, he decided to fly through his route once more.

In his final run to the west, he spotted a bit of smoke off the nose of the aircraft, some 10 miles away. The aircrew contacted the area department of public safety and reported exact coordinates of the fire. 

The spotting of this smoke prevented what could have become a major fire and hazard. Captain Johnson and his crew circled the area to maintain observation until fire crews arrived and began attacking the blaze.