A team of WA incident management specialists are being deployed to Canada to support local firefighters as the country battles through the peak of its wildfire season.
Five Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) personnel and seven Parks and Wildlife Service personnel have flown from Perth to assist Canadian crews fighting hundreds of wildfires in extreme conditions.
The Western Australian taskforce members will provide valuable skills in complex incident management functions such as coordinating fireground aircraft, leading strike teams, fire behaviour analysis, public information and heavy equipment co-ordination, said WA Emergency Services Minister, Stephen Dawson.
“The arrival of Western Australian personnel will bring much-needed relief to Canadian crews who once again are being stretched to the limit by extreme fire conditions,” said Minister Dawson.
“Every Western Australian should be proud of these men and women for putting their hand up to help their international colleagues. I wish them a safe deployment.
“The Cook Government is on standby to provide as much additional support for as long as it is needed.”
The deployments are co-ordinated by AFAC’s National Resource Sharing Centre(link is external). The taskforce will be briefed in Sydney and Brisbane today before flying to Canada tomorrow as part of a national contingent of more than 100.
“I commend the bravery and dedication of our firefighters and incident management staff who have again stepped up to join the international effort to bring the Canadian wildfires under control,” said Environment Minister, Reece Whitby.
“The invaluable skills, experience and resilience of Western Australia’s emergency services personnel will provide much-needed relief and support in some of Canada’s hardest hit areas.
“I wish our emergency services personnel all the very best as they battle these bushfires over the next five weeks and look forward to their safe return.
“Our thoughts are also with the Canadian personnel and people impacted by the devastating bushfires.”
This latest deployment follows similar requests for assistance last year when nearly 80 Western Australians were sent to the frontlines of Canada’s most destructive wildfire season on record.
More than 235,000 people were evacuated from their homes as communities across the country were devastated by fires of enormous size and scale.
Canadian authorities have released their 2024 seasonal outlook and have forecast another severe wildfire season, with higher-than-normal temperatures expected nationwide.
“Our Canadian counterparts have asked for emergency services personnel with a very specific skillset who are trained for complex firefighting operations,” said Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Darren Klemm AFSM.
“This is a challenging deployment because the fires are in difficult terrain. The vast experience provided by the WA contingent will play a key role in the response to this natural disaster.
“Our State is well aware of the importance of resource sharing following an incredibly difficult season of bushfires in our own backyard.”
