Almost two dozen New Brunswick firefighters are heading to Alberta to help exhausted crews battle wildfires that have caused widespread devastation, especially in Fort McMurray.
Stephen Tulle, a training specialist with the Department of Natural Resources, gave some final instructions to a group of firefighters from across the province Wednesday, before they headed out west.
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The crew of 22 include six women and 18 men. They have to meet certain standards before leaving.
“Some of those standards are things like crew training, hover exit out of helicopters and working around wildfires,” Tulle said.
For most, this is not their first forest fire fight, but all are aware of the severity of this particular event.
“Checking out how much bigger it’s getting and like, how much equipment they have — I’ve been looking closely and it’s crazy to be actually going out and seeing it first hand,” said Haley Hallahan of Miramichi.
“I just feel so bad for what’s happened to them out there — it’s hard,” added 22 year old Tyler Langlais of Bathurst.
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Hallihan is one of the six women heading to Alberta this week. At 19 years of age, it will be her third fire.
“There’s lots of people in New Brunswick that are trying to help out in any way possible,” Hallihan said.
“There’s been lots of people volunteering so it feels good to be able to go out and help do things other people are wanting to do and I get a chance to do it.”
The crew of 22 is expected to be ready for active duty as early as Friday and be on scene fighting fires for at least two weeks.