Nova Scotia firefighters home from Manitoba, Alberta wildfires

A crew of Nova Scotia firefighters is home after helping put out a blaze that straddles the Manitoba-Ontario border.

The Department of Natural Resources sent 21 trained staff to help fight wildfires in northern Manitoba and three Incident Management Team specialists to assist in Alberta. One of those was in the Fort McMurray area and two were at other fires in Alberta.

Robert Davis has been at a fire camp in Manitoba for the last 14 days and returned home Thursday night.

He's been a firefighter for 25 years and this was his sixth trip out of province to fight wildfires.

This last tour of duty saw crews work 12-hour days and face frustrating situations.

"We were doing patrols in a helicopter," he said. "We had one fire we put out and we were heading back to base and a storm cell went through and started a new fire."

Davis said the crew had to fly back, get new gear and start all over again.

The fire Davis helped control was about 70,000 hectares. He said cooler weather and even some snow helped them control the blaze on the Manitoba side, but the Ontario fire is still being worked on.

Year-long preparations

Davis said Nova Scotia crews work all yearto prepare for wildfire season.

Every spring they do a national standard fitness test, but he credits their training for preparing them for the conditions in the woods.

"We have the best of the province, so we're all on the same page," Davis said. "We all know what we're doing when we go out. We keep morale up, lots of laughs, keep the spirits high and it's usually not a problem to put the days in."

Although it is dangerous work, Davis said it is satisfying.

"The smell of the soot, it takes you to another level," he said.

"The adrenaline gets pumping and you know you're there to do a job. It's hard to explain the feeling you get when you're out in the bush fighting wildfires."

Home with family now, Davis said he expects to be out at the next wildfire in a few weeks.