British Columbia is currently in a state of emergency with nearly 200 wildfires burning across the province. These fires have seen the destruction of over 114,000 hectares of land and forced the evacuation of thousands of people from their homes.

As part of the Australian and Canada resource sharing agreement, NTFRS District Officer David Letheby will deploy to British Columbia to assist with the emergency.

District Officer Letheby will be one of 24 Australian fire fighters being deployed to the region, where they will provide much needed support to local fire fighters.

“It is a little bit daunting, but I will be working alongside Australia’s very best incident management teams and hopefully we will be in a position to allow the Canadians to take some time off,” District Officer Letheby said.

“This emergency has been going for a number of weeks and we trust the Australians will be able to provide some welcome relief.”

Executive Director of the Northern Territory Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services Jennifer Reilly said The NT is proud to be in a position to assist colleagues in Canada.

“This opportunity is a testament to the skill set that David has built over his career. No doubt the knowledge David will gain and will bring home with him will be a great asset to the NTFRS.”

We wish David and all the Australian firefighters a safe trip.