For years fighting wildfires in northern BC and Yukon, Chad Thomas saw the same problems again and again: First Nations and other communities with broken equipment and volunteers doing their best with minimal training. …Speaking at a Wednesday press conference on Parliament Hill, Thomas, along with other firefighters, wildfire survivors and climate advocates said the federal government must tackle these problems before wildfires flare up again next spring. …In the short term, Thomas said the current wildfire response model, which relies heavily on provincial and territorial wildfire services to respond to fires and protect communities, is inadequate. …Over the past 15 years, the number of new recruits joining volunteer firefighting crews has fallen, a consequence of inadequate equipment, training and education. …Beyond direct wildfire mitigation and response support, the group is pushing federal officials and MPs to refuse climate-wrecking projects under the government’s push for so-called “nation-building” projects.