亚洲天堂 Lake resident Brock Worthing, who鈥檚 part of the 亚洲天堂 Lake unit of the B.C. Wildfire Service, has recently returned from deployment near Williams Lake and stopped by Lakes District 亚洲天堂 to share his experience on the front line.

During his first year working as a firefighter, Worthing has encountered a provincial state of emergency with over 43,000 people having to flee their homes. To him, working on the front line feels personal.

鈥淚 have friends in Williams Lake,鈥� he said. 鈥淸When you鈥檙e out there] you鈥檙e protecting your province and areas that you grew up close to.鈥�

He said it鈥檚 a unique experience to work during a state of emergency.

鈥淧eople鈥檚 lives depend on you,鈥� he said. 鈥淓ven when people are evacuated, their homes and belongings are still there.鈥�

Although this wasn鈥檛 particularly surprising to him, he says the work has been physically demanding. With the busy fire season, firefighters have been working 14 days in a row, followed by three days off. The long hour shifts often last 12 hours, and one of his shifts even lasted 19 hours.

鈥淧hysically it鈥檚 what I imagined, it鈥檚 hard, and mentally it can be draining鈥� working long hours, weeks at a time.鈥�

He said his relationship with his co-workers has helped him navigate through the challenging times.

鈥淭he people in the group are some of my closest friends now鈥� people I just met this summer.鈥�

Although working on the front line can be physically and mentally demanding, Worthing said he鈥檚 always felt safe.

鈥淎ll the higher ups that we work with take care of us and they would never put us in a situation where it was unsafe to work.鈥�

Firefighters battle smaller fires directly, but with bigger fires they use an 鈥渋ndirect attack鈥� in which the control line is located some considerable distance away from the fire鈥檚 active edge.

鈥淭his way the fire will burn on our terms,鈥� he said.

Surprisingly, Worthing said the most difficult part of the job has been the training.

鈥淐oming from university and adjusting into a routine that you鈥檙e working hard every day was hard,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he hardest part was getting into that routine.鈥�

Worthing will return to school in September in Prince George, where he studies business administration.

He initially decided to become a firefighter because he thought it would be a great summer job, but now he realizes that it is much more than that.

鈥淚t鈥檚 something where you can make a difference, make an impact helping people,鈥� he said. 鈥淛ust helping the province is the best part, and knowing that you鈥檙e supported.鈥�

Worthing said the appreciation that he has felt from the public has been the most rewarding part of the job.

鈥淟ots of times when we see people they say something nice like, 鈥楾hanks for your hard work.鈥� You can feel the appreciation that people have for you being there.鈥�