Sean Davis of Gorokan is among 15 National Parks and Wildlife Service firefighters called up this week to help Canadian Emergency Services battle unprecedented wildfires.
Mr Davis is part of the fourth deployment of National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) specialist firefighters, with the group flying out across Friday and the weekend for a 4-week stint.
The first call for assistance was in May, and the escalating emergency has now seen 48 NPWS firefighters deployed to Canada as part of the Australian/New Zealand contingent.
International firefighting efforts are helping the Canadians battle wildfires across most provinces, with firefighters from the United States, New Zealand, South Africa, South Korea, France, Spain, Chile, Mexico and Costa Rica joining forces.
‘My role will be Aircraft Operations Manager, part of the Incident Management Team, working alongside NPWS lead planning officers, air crew, divisional commanders and Remote Area Fire Teams (RAFT),’ Mr Davis said.
NPWS has similar approaches to wildfire management, so crews should be able to seamlessly step in to support the already stretched Canadian firefighters.
‘Air Operations Manager is a comprehensive specialised role. We coordinate aircraft and ground crews, set up communications channels, need to know locations and timeframe, pilot hours, aircraft capabilities – many things.’
With 21 years’ firefighting experience, Sean has a solid operational sense, and a good knowledge of fire behaviour and how weather can impact it.
Joining him on the deployment to Canada is another Hunter Central Coast-based NPWS ranger and firefighter from Scone who is part of the highly trained RAFT (Remote Area Fire Team) crew.
RAFT crew work in rugged, isolated areas that firefighting tankers can’t access. They are skilled in ‘dry firefighting’ techniques such as creating firebreaks, by cutting mineral earth trails, or undertaking backburning.
NPWS wishes Sean and all NPWS staff already in, or heading to Canada, a safe deployment and return home.
Meanwhile Hunter Central Coast NPWS staff continue to plan and deliver a program of hazard reduction burns ahead of summer. More than 2,000 hectares have been treated in Hunter Central Coast parks and reserves in the past year, with further burns planned for winter and spring, weather permitting.
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