The Paraná Military Firefighters (CBMPR) will be part of another Brazilian international mission in the fight against forest fires. This time, the state will act in Canada, a country that is suffering from record fires this year. The corporation will be represented by 1st Lieutenant Bruno Eduardo da Macena, of the 2nd Ponta Grossa Fire Brigade, who has specialized training to act in this type of situation.

The lieutenant’s departure for Brasília is scheduled for this Friday (14), from where he will travel to Canada this weekend. He will move in a brigade made up of 20 firefighters from all over the country specialized in fighting forest fires for a period of 30 days, which can be extended if necessary.

The group was formed following a request for support made by the Brazilian Cooperation Agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the National Council of Military Firefighters of Brazil. In total, the Brazilian mission will include 100 agents, including members of the Ministries of Environment, Defence, Justice and Regional Integration and Development.

According to the General Commander of the Military Firefighters of Paraná, Colonel Vasco de Figueiredo Junior, the institution has a long history of action in forest fires, which began to take shape after the historic fires that occurred in 1963 and which affected 128 cities. in Paraná, being the worst tragedy of this type in extension in Brazil and one of the biggest in the world.

“Since the 1960s, when the state was affected by major fires, the Paraná Fire Department has been training its officers and soldiers to perform effectively in service to the Paraná community. This work has made the company a reference in the fight against forest fires, with firefighters working in the Amazon, Mato Grosso, Chile and now in Canada,” said the General Commander.

According to Macena, the firefighters chosen for the Brazilian mission had to have taken the forest fire prevention and fighting course and be trained to operate the incident command system, which is an important tool used to manage this type of fire. operation.

For the lieutenant, his participation in the mission represents a great challenge, but also an opportunity to represent the firefighters of Paraná. “This week has been quite busy for the preparation of the whole peloton. We are in contact with firefighters from Portugal who have returned from this same mission to gather information on the characteristics of the region where we are going to operate, since the conditions there are completely different from those in Brazil,” he commented. .

INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT – In February of this year, CBMPR Sergeant Natanael Kovalski worked in the fighting forest fires in Chile, in a mission that also included the participation of a soldier from the Paraná Military Police, Geovane dos Santos. The company was also present in other Brazilian regions in 2021 through the national operation Guardião dos Biomas.

CANADIAN CRISIS – According to local authorities, this could be the worst wildfire season on record in Canada, 12 times higher than the 10-year average for this time of year. Smoke from the fires blanketed much of eastern North America, causing problems even in cities like New York in the United States.

The fires began in early June in the Canadian province of Quebec, influenced by the dry and hot climate, in addition to several lightning strikes, which caused a rapid spread, reaching so far an area of ​​almost four million hectares.

So far, more than 20,000 people have had to be evacuated from their homes across the country and the situation continues to cause concern in several regions, as it is only the start of the fire season, with an imminent risk. new fires. Firefighters from France and the United States have been called in to help with the work, which in a few days will also rely on the efforts of the Brazilian team, including Paraná.

The States of the chosen military firefighters will have no burden, since the expenses related to the transfer and the food will be assumed by Canada in an agreement signed with the Brazilian federal government.