SA firefighters praised for valiant efforts against Canada wildfires

Clarence Ford speaks with Trevor Abrahams, Managing Director at Working on Fire. 

Listen to the interview in the audio below.

South African firefighters from Working on Fire have been helping combat wildfires across Canada since 2015.

The programme has deployed around 1,750 firefighters and management to assist Canada, with deployments taking place in 2015, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2024.

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In recognition of their support, the Government of Canada extended a special note of thanks to the South African firefighting teams.

According to Abrahams, many of these firefighters are unemployed youth they have trained.

He says the warm reception and recognition from Canada is something is very important to their teams.

“Those are the intangibles that change people’s lives.”

- Trevor Abrahams, Managing Director at Working on Fire 

“There is so much to learn there thanks to the scale of the operations.”

- Trevor Abrahams, Managing Director at Working on Fire 

Abrahams adds that climate change has had a clear impact on Canada’s wildfires.

Last year, they had to send over 800 firefighters, compared to 50 in 2014.

In 2023, 7.5 million hectares burnt down in Canada, an area roughly the size of Greece.

“Last year was off the record… Canada is running four degrees hotter than the global average.”

- Trevor Abrahams, Managing Director at Working on Fire 

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview.