FORT MCMURRAY, Alberta — A firefighter proposed to his firefighter girlfriend amidst the chaotic wildfire that forced over 80,000 people to evacuate Fort McMurray.
Kyle Beckley and Danielle Deslauriers, both firefighters, were on a walk last Tuesday with their dog when they spotted the warning signs of a coming wildfire. They immediately returned home to pack and prepare to go to work.
“We looked at each other and were like, ‘We need to go home, now,’” Deslauriers told CBC News.
Upon returning home, Beckley left for the south of the city to help battle the fire. But by the time Deslauriers finished packing, access to the south was cut off.
“We said goodbye and I looked at him thinking, ‘I have no idea when the next time is I’m going to see you,’” Deslauriers recounted.
Deslauriers went north, where she spent the following two days until she was able to catch a ride with her boss back south.
Deslauriers called Beckley to let him know she was there, only to find that he, too, was already there waiting for her.
The two embraced in the parking lot, where Deslauriers jokingly asked, “This is where you’re going to ask me to marry you right?” Beckley told Deslauriers that he had already purchased a ring, but didn’t have enough time to pick it up.
“I just found it ironic that we’re both firefighters in our work uniforms and there’s a disaster going on around us and it happened that way,” Deslauriers said.
The couple was hesitant to share the news during such a tragic time.
“We didn’t really want to tell anyone at first, because a lot of the department members had lost their homes,” Deslauriers said.
However, a colleague encouraged her to share the news.
“You need to tell somebody. There has to be something positive,” Deslauriers’ friend said.