Firefighter Terry Edwards was on the last of a set of night shifts in Fort McMurray when the massive forest fire that scorched the city in the spring of 2016 approached.
What struck Edwards — originally from St. John’s and honoured Monday by city council for his work battling the fire — was the magnitude of what McMurrayites would come to call “the beast.” The fire quickly outgrew the resources area firefighters had to attack.
“Firefighters flew in not only from Alberta but the country and other parts of the world,” he said.
Terry Edwards of St. John’s was honoured Monday for his effort in fighting the Fort McMurray fire in the spring of 2016. (Sherry Vivian/CBC)
“The main thing, I think, once it got out of control, was trying to mitigate it and trying to keep it outside the city the best we could, and I think we did a good job of that. We were able to save a lot of the major infrastructure and bridges and schools and hockey rinks and so on.”
The biggest task was getting everyone out safely.
“If you’re not familiar with McMurray, there is only one way in and out of there, so that got pretty tricky with regards to the fire, because the fire was jumping the highway at numerous times,” he said.
It was during the time he was battling the fire that he learned he was being hired by the St. John’s Regional Fire Department, allowing him to come home. But that meant he missed being recognized for his heroics with his colleagues in Alberta.
That was rectified Monday at the weekly St. John’s city council meeting, where he received a medal, a specially designed fire helmet, and a print of Fort McMurray firefighters.