World

“Bless Every One of Them”: South African Firefighters Sing, Dance in Canada

June 9, 2023
Saqafy Times

'Bless every one of them': South African firefighters sing, dance in Canada

About 200 firefighters are in Canada to deal with the widespread fire.

A video of a group of South African firefighters singing and dancing in Canada has gone viral. Firefighters have been deployed across the country to help extinguish wildfires that have displaced many people and burned millions of hectares of land in Canada.

The video, shared on Facebook, shows firefighters in uniform performing their traditional dance while singing and holding the South African flag.

“For the last two days we have had firefighters from South Africa. It was the best thing I’ve ever seen.”

Firefighters were pictured dancing after landing in Edmonton last week. In a video shared on Twitter by Working on Fire, workers carrying their luggage can be seen dancing, clapping and singing inside the airport.

Many users have given their feedback on the video of firemen dancing.

“Always very happy, and nice to have help from my old country with the terrible fires here. Thanks for coming,” wrote one person.

Another said, “Thanks for coming to Canada and helping! Love the joyous musical arrival too!”

“Bless each and every one of them. I’m sorry we had to call, but so grateful they answered,” read one comment.

Goosebumps and tears. Love them – love them for coming and love their style.’

“This brings “whistling while working out” to a whole new level!!! :). Beautiful,” commented one person.

According to Working on Fire, a program funded by South Africa’s Department of Environmental Affairs, 200 firefighters and 15 management arrived in Canada to combat the widespread fire.

Smoke from wildfires in Canada has turned New York skies yellow and triggered air quality alerts in cities along the US East Coast. The fires have displaced more than 20,000 people and burned about 3.8 million hectares of land in Canada.