Ontario wraps up its wildland firefighter recruitment as the threat of a new fire season looms

Ontario confirms it has hired about 600 forest firefighters this year, although it has the budget to hire up to 800 people.

The recruitment number is "well within the range" the province aims for, according to Natural Resources and Forestry Minister Graydon Smith.

"We spent a significant amount of money, time and effort this year to recruit and retain more people and I think those efforts are paying off," he said.

Earlier in March the province rolled out an incentive program promising lump-sum payments to wildland firefighters.

The results of the recruitment process vary across different regions. Some bases have hired more than their allocated crews, while others only have a third of their usual numbers.

Smith says "crews are deployed across Ontario as provincial resources during the fire season to where they are needed." 

In other words, if a fire breaks out in the Greenstone area and there aren't enough available crews to tackle it, resources will be sent in from other bases. 

Eric Davidson, president of the Ontario Professional Association of Wildland Firefighters, says there are a few downsides to this approach, including increased workloads for neighbouring bases. 

"It just means there's a lot of movement of resources around the province, which puts a larger strain on everyone else," he said. 

He says that when he started working as a firefighter ten years ago, he would expect one or two tours in other sectors throughout the season.

"Now you're going to be a firefighter for the entire province all summer," he said. 

If the fire season turns out to be especially difficult, the province can also rely on 320 additional firefighting personnel sourced from private contractors – although they would not have the qualifications required to carry out initial fire attack work. 

Ontario could also turn to its mutual aid partnerships with national and international agencies to unlock more resources.