Five firefighters from Hawke's Bay have been recruited for a national contingent set to help Canadian forces fight wildfires in British Columbia.
Having spent much of the summer battling blazes throughout Hawke's Bay, the local team have now embarked on the "chance of a lifetime", principal rural fire officer for Hawke's Bay Trevor Mitchell said.
"It's essentially full time fire fighting which is experience that you don't get in New Zealand. Working on large fires with large management teams and a lot of people so it's an awesome experience for them."
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Deputy principal rural fire officers Tim Allan of Wairoa and Allison Ludlow of Waipawa were joined by Hastings rural fire volunteers Hamish Hanara, Owen Taumua and Kevin Hodges for the trip and flew out of Auckland on Sunday evening, bound for Vancouver.