NSW Forestry fire specialists answer the call in Canada Coffs Coast Coffs Coast - popup ad by News Of The Area - Modern Media - August 2, 2024 Forestry Corporation’s Daniel Macaree (left) and Dean Kearney from Coffs Harbour prepare for deployment to fight wildfires in Canada. COFFS Harbour’s Dean Kearney is one of four NSW Forestry Corporation fire specialists deployed to Canada to help the country tackle its wildfires. A contingent of 31 incident management, aviation and heavy machinery specialists have headed to Canada after AFAC, the National Council for Fire and Emergency Services, received a request for assistance from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business. Message us. Phone us – (02) 4981 8882. Email us – media@newsofthearea.com.au Employed locally as a Senior Manager Environment and Sustainability, Mr Kearney joined fellow Forestry Corporation workers Tim Gillespie-Jones (South Coast), Peter Carstairs (South Coast) and Daniel Macaree (Maitland) as part of the crew. The NSW contingent is coordinated by the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) and made up of 20 RFS representatives, five from National Parks and Wildlife, two from State Emergency Service and four from Forestry Corporation. Canada is experiencing significant fire activity with 650 active fires burning. More than 400 of those wildfires are out of control, having burnt a total of 1.5 million hectares of land. The Forestry Corporation representatives said they were excited about the deployment. “I’m really looking forward to repaying the favour to the Canadian firefighters who assisted our crews during the Border fire and Rockton fire in 2019 and 2020,” Mr Gillespie-Jones said. “I worked closely with Canadian firefighters during a large strategic backburn along the Victorian border to protect the softwood plantations of Bondi State Forest. Being able to repay that contribution is a big reason behind my deployment.” The men said they were expecting a rewarding experience but challenging conditions, with Canadian firefighters exhausted from their containment efforts over recent months. By Mike HELY The Australian contingent ready to depart to help fight fires in Canada. More than 600 wildfires are presently burning in Canada, where an Australian team has headed to help extinguish the flames.
