Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (Aug 24/01) - Fire crews from Fort Simpson and Fort Liard returned Friday after helping to suppress some of the infernos devastating forests in Ontario.

Manny Vital, a rookie firefighter in Fort Liard, only fought one blaze in the Deh Cho during the summer. Upon arriving in Sudbury, Ont., he encountered a much more extreme situation with more than 180 fires burning.

"It was pretty bad. It was windy and it was always hot," he said.

Vital said it was nearly 35 C there, but he appreciates the experience he gained.

Troy Ruttle, who works for Nogha Enterprises in Fort Simpson, was sent to Sudbury as well. He also noticed a number of differences such as rocky terrain, which the fires burnt deeply. The tools they used there were older models, unlike the newer equipment issued by RWED, he added.

"And the animals were different. We had to watch for snakes, skunks and poison ivy," he laughed.

David Yallee Jr., who was stationed in Timmins, added that the hierarchy in Ontario was unlike the NWT.

"There's a crew leader, then a crew boss and an area attack officer," he said. "That's a lot of bosses."

Hundreds of firefighters had been seconded from around the country to battle the blazes. The crews stayed in tents, were given daily briefings on fire status, bused to the airport and then flown by helicopter to the fire sites.

"Then we had to camp by the fire overnight. We'd stay there all night and watch it and make sure it was out," Ruttle explained.

All four crews departed after a week in the trenches. It was only some merciful rain that shortened their stint in Ontario, where they were expected to stay for up to 19 days.

Henry Bertrand, Harold Bertrand, Joey Duntra and Michael Sassie were the other Fort Liard crew members. Robin Grossetete, Peter Hardisty, Johnny Denethlon, Walter McPherson, Michael Tsetso, Conrad Cazon, Antoine Tsetso, Harold Sabourin, Myles Barber, Walter Tsetso, Brian Martineau, Alan Bonnetrouge and Ernest Tsetso were the other members of the Fort Simpson contingents.