Fort McMurray firefighter records video of his home in flames
'It was just consuming house by house by house. We couldn't even defend'
On the first day of the Fort McMurray fire, firefighter Mark Stephenson recorded a video of his own home engulfed in flames.
"It's only a home babe," he tells his wife in the video. "Love you. I'm safe. Glad you guys got out okay."
A month later, it's still hard to talk about.
"That was basically a good bye to her home for her and I," he said, choking up.
Just 45 minutes earlier on May 3, as the fire roared into the city, Stephenson and his crew arrived at his neighbourhood of Abasand.
They pulled up in a pick-up truck because all the pumpers were already deployed, fighting fires around the city.
At that point, Stephenson's home was not lit up, but the nearby bush line was as were his neighbours' fences.
But the area was quickly overrun by the fire.
"It was just consuming house by house by house," recalled Stephenson. "The water pressure dropped so drastically in the hydrants that we couldn't even defend."
Stephenson's captain directed them back to the hall to regroup, get more man-power and two water trucks.
"By the time we got back down there my house was fully engulfed," Stephenson said. "There was nothing you could do about it at that point in time."
So, Stephenson did what he does. He got back into the truck and continued to fight bush fires and protect homes.
He then grabbed an hour and a half of sleep in the back seat of his truck before heading to Thickwood for a second day of battle.
In total, some 20 Fort McMurray firefighters lost their homes. They bunk with colleagues, live apart from their families and deal with the insurance and the grief. But when their shift begins they put on their uniform and you would never know it.
"It's devastating even for us firefighters," said Stephenson. "But not one of us that lost a home gave up on the fight for even a minute."
Stephenson said what he lost in the fire is "just stuff", adding it's "heartbreaking but not spirit breaking."
Still, thinking of what he lost can be hard: weightlifting trophies and keepsakes his mother saved since he was a baby.
"I'm 43 years old. I still had my first teddy bear," he said with a chuckle.
Friends managed to retrieve his dog tags from the ashes, from his days as a corporal in the infantry.
It's still the place where Stephenson hopes to rebuild and raise his young children.
Meanwhile, it's left an impression on his four-year-old son who appears to have a new hero.
"All his little superheroes are helping put out the fires," said Stephenson.
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