Two experienced local firefighters have stepped up to travel to Canada to fight wildfires.

Dunstan volunteer fire brigade’s Ewan Richmond and Tony Smith have been deployed for 36 days, including travel days.

A Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) spokesperson said the pair have arrived in Canada and will be in the Slave Lake fire area, where the majority of the alpha deployment are already situated.

“They will be doing what is called ‘arduous conditions’ firefighting. The alpha deployment has been mopping up, running pumps, digging out hotspots, cutting fallen branches, clearing access tracks and escape routes.”

Fire and Emergency now has a total of 46 people in Canada, made up of alpha deployment’s 25 people and bravo deployment’s 21 people, which Tony and Ewan are part of.

Canada is approaching its most destructive wildfire season ever, as climate change continues to warm the planet, CBS News said. 

According to the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System, the destruction from these fires up to this point in the season has been 13 times worse than the 10-year average.

Both Tony and Ewan have overseas firefighting experience. They assisted in the 2019/20 bushfires in New South Wales (NSW), and Tony went to Tasmania in 2019.

Last year both firefighters were awarded service medals for their outstanding contributions in NSW.

Tony and Ewan have stuck to their word: When the Central App spoke to them in November they said they would go overseas again if the opportunity arose.

Ewan and Tony (in grey) with members of their brigade in November 2022. Tony has been a member for 25 years and Ewan the past eight years. PHOTO: The Central App 

Read more: Service medals for Dunstan firefighting pair.