N.L. government announces how it'll spend $32 million on new Atlantic Wildfire Centre

The Newfoundland and Labrador government unveiled more details about a new wildfire centre Monday, revealing it will be located at Gander International Airport and have $32 million in funding support.

Premier  Andrew Furey was in Gander to announce the four-year investment plan for the centre. The money is cost-shared between the province and Natural Resources Canada.

At the announcement, Furey thanked the firefighters for their efforts during this year's wildfires, which forced the evacuation of entire towns in Labrador.

"These people left their families [and] often put themselves at risk to help save people across Newfoundland and Labrador," Furey said.

The centre will support the firefighters and strengthen the battle against wildfires, he said.

According to a news release on Monday, the money will be spent on repairing one of the province's five water bombers and purchase firefighting equipment such as fire trucks, command trailers, sprinklers, weather stations and fire-resistant suits.

The province will also use the money to issue two requests for proposals: one to purchase two new spotter aircraft, known as "bird dogs," and another to design the new centre's campus and related infrastructure.

The centre will aid not only communities in the province but also support neighbouring provinces in Atlantic Canada. In a previous CBC News story, Forestry Minister Gerry Byrne said that this support could generate revenue for the province.

A 'magnet' for new workers

John Haggie, minister of municipal and provincial affairs and Gander's MHA, told CBC News the centre is modelled after other centres in western Canada where they have firefighting training, simulators, and academic research under one roof.

"We have the College of North Atlantic here, which trains a huge number of ... aircraft mechanics," Haggie said.

"We have the flight training school here, which is the only one of the province and it has a significant international component to it. So there's a lot of things we can bring together."

To fill the space with workers, Haggie says it's no different than the challenges of recruiting in other industries.

"You establish relationships," he said. "You'll find that the students at the flight school will look at the role of a water bomber crew member and say 'well, maybe that's something for me.'"

He said the centre could act as a magnet to draw people to want to live and work there as it will be the "best in eastern Canada" for wildfire management.

Haggie says the facility is already in the works, with plans to be operational for the next forest fire season.

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