Calgary firefighters return home after Fort McMurray fire

The final deployment of Calgary firefighters sent to Fort McMurray to help fight the wildfire are now back home.

The group arrived back last night after several gruelling weeks fighting Alberta's biggest wildfire.

They were putting out hotspots right up until Tuesday.Just as they were getting ready to leave, theygot called to help fight a big condo fire.

"We were actually being decommissioned and going back to the hotel when they called us in. We'd done a 12-hour day and that fire was another fiveor six," said Capt.Hank Huculak.

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Huculak says the Calgary firefighters deployedto Fort McMurray over the last month were mainly tasked with supporting the local fire department and putting out extensive hotspots.

"We were learning as we went. I've never seen anything this large and there's still a lot of work there left to do," said Huculak.

"We were very impressed with the local firefighters. Those guys are really tired and they're still doing a really professional job."

Senior firefighter Patrick O'Neill said while it was an honour to helpFortMcMurray,it's nice to be back home.

"When we first arrived we saw quite a bit of devastation. But there's a lot of hope and a lot of strength in the community," he said.

"People came out in numbers to help and there were lots of organizations offering help from across North America. It was definitely eyeopening."

O'Neill says he's looking forward to seeing his daughters and getting back to a normal work schedule.

Calgary's fire chiefsays he's tremendously proud of his firefighters.

"The most satisfying thing for me is to see everyone back now, safe and with no serious injuries. We've had more than 400 people up there and everyone's proud of what they've been able to do," saidSteveDongworth.

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"We didn't have to force anyone to go. We put out a call on day one and we had hundreds of people ready to go and more people stepped up as time went on."

Dongworth says the local department is now ready to take back control of firefighting in Fort McMurray as the city gets back on it's feet.

Thousands of residents are returning to the city Wednesday for the first time since May 3.