In a previous article, Big John said:
If one fell on a fire fighter you'd have one dead fella.

Which is why the article said:

As with today's aerial firefighting, a ground safety fire commander would
ensure ground personnel are clear of the airdrop zone and would direct
airdrop targeting.

Of course we know that ground commanders NEVER make mistakes, right?

--
Paul Tomblin http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
Some of you may have had occasion to run into mathematicians and to
wonder, therefore, how they got that way.
-- Tom Lehrer, "Tom Lehrer In Concert"