Last month, 11 Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) wildland firefighters went to help fight the wildfires that have been burning in Canada.
Eryn Meinhardt-Donohoe was part of the DCR crew that was in Quebec for two weeks.
Meinhardt-Donohoe lives in Sagamore Beach and works for DCR Forest Fire Control out of their District 1 location in Sandwich.
She said that while in Canada, helicopters would often transport the crew to the different fires that had to be put out.
“The fire moves so fast we wouldn’t be able to stay out there very long. We’d try to get done what we need to, and the helicopter would come pick us back up and take us out of there,” she said.
The deployment was Meinhardt-Donohoe’s first one as DCR. She picked up a new firefighting method from the experience when pumping water from a lake.
She said Canadian crews used a fender to keep their suction hose afloat in the lake. The fender allowed for the hose to stay just below the water line — ensuring it wouldn’t sink to the bottom and start sucking up mud.
Meinhardt-Donohoe brought the technique of using the fender back to her work on the Cape, where it’s already been used in a training exercise.
“We’re testing it out. We just did a drill recently going to Sandy Neck,” she said.
Meinhardt-Donohoe and the rest of the DCR crew, known as MAS#1, all volunteered for the assignment to Canada.
She entered the profession five years after finishing her time as active-duty U.S. Coast Guard. She said she wanted to do more hard work that she enjoyed.
“Working at the fire, it’s exciting. And it’s helping people.”
She could deploy to Canada again or to the Western U.S. this summer.
Listen to the full conversation with Eryn Meinhardt-Donohoe above.
