Will be sent to northern Quebec to fight fires
Some 150 firefighters from South Korea arrived in Ottawa on Sunday afternoon on their way to northern Quebec to fight dozens of wildfires that are still burning there.
After a 13-hour flight, they were met at the Ottawa International Airport by important people like the president of the Treasury Board, Mona Fortier, and the ambassador of South Korea to Canada, Lim Woongsoon.
Lim told Radio-Canada in an interview that Korea is ready to be one of the first countries to help Canada if it needs help.
“We won’t forget that Canada has helped us before when Korea was in trouble. Best friends are supposed to do that.”
Before going to Lebel-sur-Quévillon, Que., about 800 kilometers northwest of Montreal, the firefighters will spend two days getting technical training in Maniwaki, Que.
The town of about 2,000 people has been evacuated twice in the past few weeks because of the threat of wildfires.
Kweon Ki-hwan, who is in charge of the South Korean disaster relief effort, said that the crews have been preparing for a couple of months and are ready to deal with the “exceptional” situation.
SOPFEU, Quebec’s forest fire agency, says that there are still about 100 active fires in the province.
“They want to help you put out wildfires and are eager to do so. They have everything they need. “They are good at what they do,” Kweon said.
“We really hope we can meet the challenges and make a big difference.”
Fighting fires is like a “universal language.
Mélanie Morin, a SOPFEU communications officer, said that the firefighters are the latest international crew to come to Quebec to help local crews fight fires.
Morin said that they are likely to stay in Canada for about a month.
“Simply put, we need more firefighters to help put out the wildfires. More than 1.2 million hectares of land in the province are on fire, Morin said.
Morin said that firefighters from countries like France, Spain, and Portugal have already been sent to help. She also said that if there are any language problems, the South Koreans will be able to use interpreters.
“Firefighting is a pretty universal language,” said Morin. “Everything should work out just fine.”