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HONORARY FIREFIGHTERS
Two Davey substation crews were driving
during the work day when they spotted a
man on the side of the road struggling to
extinguish a grass fire using only a shovel.
The crew members quickly stopped to
assist and helped put it out. The temporary
firefighters are Danaka Hill, herbicide
applicator; Chantel Hupka, apprentice
applicator; Rayla Yamiolkowski-Yanchuk,
herbicide applicator; and Karen Zahacy,
herbicide applicator. The fire grew quickly
and, without their help, could have grown
out of control. The chief of the local fire
department that responded to the fire
remarked about how impressed he was
by their response.
CANADA BATTLES FORT MCMURRAY FIRE AFTERMATH
Employees of The Davey Tree Expert Co. of Canada, Limited, worked to help restore power to the areas
hit hardest by the Fort McMurray wildfire this past summer. The Fort McMurray fire, which started in
May, covered 1.4 million acres across Alberta and Saskatchewan before firefighters could bring it under
control. It destroyed close to 2,000 structures and forced 90,000 people to evacuate. Flare-ups brought
forestry firefighters, looking to extinguish flash fires, roving into challenging work areas already complicated
by the stifling environment and poor air quality.
Angus Hill, Canada regional utility manager, said Davey crews mobilized within a day to support removing
nearly incinerated and fallen trees from utility rights-of-way so power could be restored to the area.
Davey's involvement started in mid-May and wrapped up in early July with no recordable injuries—a
considerable accomplishment given the working conditions.
