Four firefighters honoured for battling Australian bushfires

A group of Newfoundland and Labrador forest firefighters has been recognized for their effort in fighting Australian bushfires.

The province said in a news release Friday that four Newfoundland and Labrador men have been awarded the New South Wales Premier’s Brushfire Emergency Citation for their role in battling the bushfires in Australia in 2019 and 2020.

The four recipients are Mark Lawlor, supervisor of industry services in Corner Brook; Matthew Wells, a conservation officer in Lewisporte; Darren Jennings, an ecosystem management ecologist in Happy Valley-goose Bay; and Joe Russell, a retired wildland fire training specialist in Corner Brook.

The men were deployed throughout New South Wales during the inferno and assisted with logistics, operations, planning, aviation and incident management.

“I wish to extend congratulations to each Newfoundland and Labrador recipient for being acknowledged with such a prestigious award,” Forestry Minister Derrick Bragg stated.

“We are proud of their accomplishments, the professionalism exemplified and their selfless decision to step up and help the people of Australia during such a challenging and unprecedented time.”

The awards were established in September 2020 by New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian for the thousands of volunteers and emergency-services personnel who put their life on the line to fight the fires.