Nova Scotia Lends Forest Fire Equipment to Other Provinces

The Department of Natural Resources is sending firefighting equipment to Quebec and New Brunswick to assist with a high volume of forest fires. Additional resources are needed to control and extinguish the fires burning throughout these provinces.

A helicopter with firefighting capabilities is on its way to New Brunswick, and 500 lengths of fire hose and 25 fire pump kits are being sent to Quebec from the Fire Control Centre in Shubenacadie. The current low level of fire concern across Nova Scotia frees up resources that can be lent to provinces with a greater need. Equipment remains available for Nova Scotia firefighters to use if the weather conditions change and fire activity is heightened.

The request for additional resources came from New Brunswick and Quebec under the Canadian Mutual Aid Resource Sharing Agreement. The agreement, established in the early 1980s, ensures that all provinces and territories will receive help if forest fires becomes too big for them to handle alone.

"We are ready to help with forest firefighting efforts in any way we can," said Natural Resources Minister David Morse. "No single province or territory has all the resources required to deal with a widespread series of fires, and this agreement enables us to use Canada's fire resources to the greatest advantage."