A half dozen Connecticut first responders who helped battle the Canadian wildfires were given a hero's welcome home Wednesday night.

Six firefighters from the Connecticut Interstate Fire Crew returned to DEEP's Eastern District headquarters in Marlborough after two weeks in Quebec.

“They are totally heroes," says a family member of Stacey Shaffer, one of the firefighters. "That is not easy work, and we’re so proud of all of them."

Firefighter Ethan Lehr says he was happy to be able to help the communities that were impacted.

"It was good to repay the favor," Lehr says. "They helped us a few years ago when we had our erratic fire season in the fall. It was cool to actually run into one of the guys who actually came down to Connecticut to help with the Hawthorne Fire and other things like that in 2024."

DEEP acting Commissioner Emma Cimino, who helped welcome the first responders back to Connecticut, says these brave firefighters truly make a difference.

“It’s incredible the work they do," Cimino says. "We’re so grateful as a state to be able to offer assistance to Canada. They’ve come to help us when we needed assistance a couple years ago with the Hawthorne fire, so we’re just glad to have this reciprocal relationship and glad these brave guys volunteered to help out."