More SA firefighters depart KMIA for Canada

With the second deployment of just over 200 South African firefighters on their way to fight Canadian wildfires, the 200-strong team currently in Alberta is said to be doing well.

The first deployment of firefighters belonging to the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment’s Working on Fire (WOF) programme had departed from the KMI Airport on June 3 to help battle the blazes raging across parts of Canada.

According to a statement by the department, the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) had put in an urgent request to South Africa to assist in quelling the fires. It said Alberta itself has already experienced over 550 wildfires this season, and according to information on the CIFFC website, as of June 13, there are currently over 450 active fires burning across Canada. Of those, 238 have been deemed out of control, 127 are under control and 94 are being held by firefighters.

ALSO READ: Injured hiker rescued in Waterval Boven

The website also reported that there were 11 new fires as of June 13. The majority of the fires, according to the CIFFC, are raging in Alberta, Quebec, British Columbia and Ontario.

WOF’s Linton Rensburg said the team in Alberta are doing well at present and no issues have been reported. He said the firefighters were excited to be of service to Canada and were happy with the warm welcome they had received from the country when they arrived.

The second deployment of 200 more firefighters and 13 managers, called the Mzanzi Hotshots 2, left from the KMI Airport on Wednesday evening.

ALSO READ: A moment of relaxation through yoga at the Lowveld Botanical Garden

The statement said Canada’s request comes in terms of the existing memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Canada and South Africa, signed in 2019, which allows the exchange of wildland fire management resources between the two countries. It said the MoU was put in place following two earlier deployments to Canada to suppress wildfires in Alberta and Manitoba.

“The 2023 deployment is the fifth collaboration between South Africa and Canada in terms of the exchange of personnel. The 2023 Canadian deployment teams comprise highly qualified firefighters with a minimum of three years of firefighting experience, and who are trained in Canadian pump operation techniques,” said the statement.

It said the teams also include members with previous international firefighting experience.
According to the Mpumalanga WOF’s spokesperson, Amanda Mthembu, of the first 200 firefighters, 27 are from Mpumalanga.