Canada to get help from SA fire fighters
At least 300 South African veld fire fighters from Working on Fire (WoF) are scheduled to fly to Canada to help authorities there fight raging wild fires that has destroyed thousands hectares of land.
Spokesman Linton Rensburg said the fire fighters have been receiving training since April to ensure that they were physically fit for work in Canada.
"The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) sent a formal request for assistance to their international partners including Working on Fire. This pending international deployment comes at the back of fire fighters from Working on Fire who have already been to Canada in 2015, where they assisted the authorities over there with fire suppression and prevention services," Rensburg said.
The Canadians have chartered a Canadian Airways airplane to pick up South African fire fighters on Sunday.
The WoF is an agency of the Department of Environmental Affairs. According to the department's website, WoF was established in 2003 and employs more than 5,000 young men and women who have been fully trained as veld and forest fire fighters. They are stationed in more than 200 teams across South Africa.
The raging blazes in Canada, especially in the province of Alberta, has reportedly forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate and damaged at least 2,000 properties. - ANA