It was with excitement and tears of joy as the 301 fire fighters and management members made their way to board flight AirCanada Boeing 777. The crew is expected to fly for over 20 hours before landing at their final destination, Canada where they will be assisting to supress wildfires. We wish them well.

“As a country we needed to respond to the call for help from Canada as they are facing a major environmental challenge. Our fire fighters are brave and patriotic in going to the assistance of Canada”, Deputy Minister Barbara Thomson speaking today in Gauteng at official send off for 300 fire fighters from Working on Fire.

The Canadian High Commissioner in South Africa, Sandra McCardell, thanked the fire fighters for their commitment and dedication to come to the aide of Canada.

“Our fire fighters have been professionally trained to international standards and instructors from the Canadian fire authorities were in South Africa in April to train them in the use of the equipment used in Canada and they were also taught about the type of conditions they might expect”, Dep Minister Thomson.