Watch: SA firefighters sing as they touch down in Canada to battle massive blaze

 ·30 May 2016

A group of over 300 South African firefighters and their management have arrived in Canada to help fight a massive blaze, singing with local spirit to boost morale.

The group is part of international firefighting organization, Working on Fire, who was answering a formal request from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) to help battle a blaze wreaking havoc in the country.

They will join over 2,000 firefighters currently battling the fire, which destroyed part of Fort McMurray, Alberta, and continues to burn out of control, covering almost 580,000 hectares, according to CBC News.

The firefighters will be there for the next month to assist.

Upon landing, the team burst into song, drawing smiles and media attention from onlookers. According to one firefighter, the singing is to boost morale and to forge stronger relationships between the fighters ahead of their harrowing task.

The mission is reportedly the biggest non-military deployment of South Africans to help a foreign country, to date.

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