South African firefighters to help fight Canadian fires

The Working on Fire-Kishugu Joint Venture is deploying a team of more than 200 firefighters and management to the Canadian province of Alberta to assist with firefighting efforts.

The Guardian reported today that wildfires near the Canadian town of Jasper have forced more than 25 000 to flee one of the country’s largest national parks as multiple blazes and thick smoke descended on the Rocky Mountain community.

The report said the town is home to 5 000 full-time residents, alongside 5 000 seasonal workers.

According to a media statement issued by Working on Fire’s (WOF) stakeholder relations manager Linton Rensburg, the request for urgent assistance came from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) in terms of the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Canada and South Africa.

The MoU, signed in 2019, provides for exchanging wildland fire management resources between the two countries.

WOF has been on five deployments to Canada between 2015 and 2023 as part of the MoU.

The five deployments include the historic deployment of 860 firefighters and management in 2023, one of the largest deployments of international firefighters to Canada.

The organisation says it has finalised the deployment list of firefighters and management.

The team is at Kishugu Training Academy in Mbombela, Mpumalanga, for a training camp for final preparation before departure.

The group will depart for Canada via a charter arranged by the CIFFC, from the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport, tomorrow and is expected to be there for 39 days.

Flying the SA flag high

“We extend our best wishes to the team as they embark on their deployment to Canada to help put out the fires raging in Alberta.

“They go to Canada to raise the South African flag and share their expertise and camaraderie with colleagues from other Canadian provinces and countries,” said Rensburg.

The team includes pump-trained firefighters with valid yellow cards, with more than three years of firefighting experience and who are physically fit.

Meanwhile, 30% of the selected firefighters in the first deployment are women, including three members of the management team, which WOF believes highlights its commitment to diversity and inclusion.

In addition, several of the team members have previous international firefighting experience, which further enhances their expertise in tackling complex fire situations.

“We are proud that South Africa is again able to assist Canadian firefighting teams in their battle to bring the wildfires under control. The extensive experience and training of these firefighters will significantly enhance efforts to effectively suppress and manage the wildfires in Alberta,” said Rensburg.

Local operations

WOF has reassured all of its partners and stakeholders that the deployment will not have any impact on South African firefighting operations.

“Every one of our 200-plus firefighting bases in South Africa will continue to provide firefighting and fire prevention services to our partners and landowners.”

The organisation says it will still have just over 5 000 firefighters available at these bases throughout South Africa.

“Should there be major wildland fire activities in our winter fire season provinces, we will, as we have done in the past, be able to deploy our Western and Eastern Cape firefighters to these hotspots. No partner or landowner will be left without any firefighting operations from WOF, and we urge you to communicate with us directly should you have any enquiries,” said Rensburg.

WOF is an expanded public works programme aimed at providing work opportunities to young men and women.

The programme, funded by the Department of Environmental Affairs, recruits participants from marginalised communities and trains them in fire awareness and education, fire prevention and fire suppression skills. – SAnews.gov.za