Durban — The South African firefighting team that is deployed to Canada underwent a three-day intensive refresher training at the Kishugu Training Academy in Mbombela, Mpumalanga before flying off to Canada.
Working On Fire – Kishugu JV project manager, Trevor Abrahams said that a team of 200 firefighters and 15 managers from the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment's (DFFE) Working on Fire Programme left South Africa on a fire suppression mission to the province of Alberta, Canada. #MZANZI1 departed from the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport (KMIA) on Saturday on a chartered aircraft, on a deployment expected to last for 35 days.
Abrahams said that Alberta has already experienced more than 550 wildfires this season resulting in significant damage to property and infrastructure and displacing thousands of people. Evacuation orders have been put in place in many areas.
“The South African team underwent intensive three-day refresher training at the Kishugu Training Academy in Mbombela, Mpumalanga before heading off to Canada,” Abrahams said.
“This marks the fifth deployment of a Working on Fire team to Canada, a testament to the strong partnership established between the two nations. The request for urgent assistance came from the Canadian Inter-agency 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 the exchange of wildland fire management resources. It was put in place following two earlier deployments to Canada to suppress wildfires in Alberta and Manitoba,” he said.
Abrahams said that a second team, #MZANZI2, comprising 200 firefighters and 13 managers, will join #Mzansi1 in about a week’s time, further strengthening the firefighting operations in Alberta.
Abrahams added that in 2021, the Manitoba government thanked the Working On Fire firefighters for their assistance in fighting extreme wildfires in the province.
He said the firefighters were praised for their “professionalism and dedication to their jobs, as well as great team spirit shown through their colourful marching, chanting and singing at Richardson International Airport in Winnipeg upon their arrival, and when moving through the communities where they were deployed”.
Meanwhile, DFFE Minister Barbara Creecy said: “I would like to extend my best wishes to the team as you embark on your deployment to Canada to help put out the fires raging in Alberta. You go to Canada to raise the South African flag and share your expertise and camaraderie with colleagues from other Canadian provinces to save lives, homes, businesses and large swathes of vegetation.”
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