Mass Firefighters Help Battle Minnesota Fires
CARLISLE — Governor Healey announced that she is sent a crew of wildland firefighters from the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) and Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game (DFG) Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife) to Northern Minnesota to assist in battling wildfires that have contributed to recent air quality issues in New England.
The 10-person crew, known as a Suppression Module, will join an international cohort of firefighters working to contain blazes across the U.S. and Canada.
The ongoing fires in Minnesota are part of a larger group of fires spanning the U.S. border into Canada. Smoke from these fires has drifted east in recent weeks, contributing to poor air quality in Massachusetts this summer. Governor Healey has also offered assistance to Canadian officials.
"Massachusetts is proud to stand with our partners across the country and Canada to combat rising wildfires. When communities are in need, we have a responsibility to step up and help," said Governor Maura Healey. "Thank you to our brave, highly skilled firefighters for answering this call, just as they answer every call here in Massachusetts. Their courage and service keep our state safe, and today they are keeping other parts of the country safe."
Minnesota is currently experiencing several wildfires near the Canadian border that are each at various stages of containment. This includes the Fort Frances 13 fire, which crosses the border into the province of Ontario and is among the series of fires covering nearly 2 million acres stretching all the way into Central Ontario. There are currently six large wildfires totaling 68,550 acres, with an additional eight new fires in the last few days all started by lighting. Smoke from these fires has drifted into Massachusetts in recent weeks, changing the color of the sky and reducing air quality to levels that are unhealthy for sensitive groups, including those with asthma, lung or heart disease, and older adults.
Massachusetts' fire crew is a 10-person wildfire suppression module of specially trained firefighters who meet the National Interagency Standards of Fire and Fire Aviation Operations through the US Wildland Fire Service for hand crews. This crew will be working directly on the front lines for approximately 14 days, doing critical tasks like building fire breaks, securing fire perimeters, containing fires, and protecting structures. All firefighters are federally qualified for the work, having passed a 40-hour federal wildland firefighting class and physical fitness test. Through the mutual aid agreement of the compact, the requesting state or province pays all expenses of the out-of-state crews, including salary, transportation, lodging, and food.
Massachusetts firefighting personnel have been deployed to multiple wildfires across the country in recent years, including fires in Montana, Idaho, California, Oregon, Arizona, as well as Canada. Most recently, DCR and DFG sent a 20-person crew to Fairbanks, Alaska in 2025, for a two-week deployment. In each case, Massachusetts firefighters are able to apply the unique skills they have learned in service at home and acquire new techniques and expertise they can bring back to address future fires.
Since 1985, DCR's Bureau of Forest Fire Control and Forestry, in partnership with U.S. Forest Service and the Northeast Forest Fire Protection Commission, has been sending crews to fight fires across several states, including Alaska, Florida, Virginia, and Quebec.?
In the fall of 2025, Chief Fire Warden Dave Celino and the DCR wildland firefighters received the Fire Marshall's award at the 36th annual Firefighter of the Year awards in recognition of the experience, expertise and firefighting resources they contributed to state's efforts to combat the historic fires that burned 4,000 acres across Massachusetts during the 2024 wildfire season.
