Australia has increased its firefighting support to Canada, deploying an additional 104 emergency service personnel to assist in ongoing wildfire suppression operations.

On 2 June, the AFAC National Resource Sharing Centre (NRSC) received the first request for assistance from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC), resulting in a contingent of 96 Australian personnel travelling to Canada for a 35-day deployment.

Following further requests for assistance throughout the month of June, the AFAC NRSC coordinated an additional contingent of Australian emergency service personnel to join the crews already on the ground in Canada.

These additional personnel take Australia’s current resources in Canada to 200 personnel, with main areas of deployment in Peace River, Slave Lake and Sousa Creek.

The additional contingent departed Australia on 26, 27 and 29 June, and included arduous firefighting crews, incident management team personnel and agency representatives. A replacement International Liaison Officer also travelled from Australia to Canada on 30 June.

AFAC member agencies supporting the deployment include:

• ACT Parks and Conservation Service
• ACT Rural Fire Service 
• SA Country Fire Service
• WA Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions
• WA Department of Fire and Emergency Services
• Forestry Corporation NSW
• Forest Fire Management Victoria
• Fire Rescue Victoria
• NSW National Park and Wildlife Service
• NSW Rural Fire Service
• Northern Territory Fire and Rescue Service
• Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service
• Tasmania Fire Service

The first contingent of personnel will begin to demobilise and travel back to Australia on 12 July, whilst the last of the current crews will depart on the 1 August.

AFAC would like to thank all agencies and personnel involved in these deployments.

Contact

For further information, contact AFAC Media: media@afac.com.au  

About the AFAC National Resource Sharing Centre

The AFAC National Resource Sharing Centre (NRSC) coordinates and facilitates international and interstate deployments through its established partnerships and national arrangements as authorised by the Commissioners and Chief Officers Strategic Committee. The AFAC NRSC is recognised as an enabler of national capability for fire and emergency services.

The AFAC NSRC enhances the efficiency of resource deployments to an interstate or international natural hazard emergency event. Through its creation of partnerships and agreements, national resourcing capability is deployable through a collaborative operating model.