ROCHESTER — Rochester firefighter Joshua Denham will join 20 firefighters from Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and New Hampshire to help contain forest fires in Quebec, Canada, according to the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.

The group of firefighters, officially known as the “21-person Initial Attack Hand Crew,” left for Quebec after assembling at the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Bureau of Forestry and Fire Control headquarters in Carlisle on Wednesday, July 5.

“They will engage in direct fire suppression, working on the fire line for about 14 days – building fire breaks, securing fire perimeters, containing fires, and protecting structures,” according to the press release.

This will be the second group of firefighters sent to Canada from Massachusetts.

The deployment of Massachusetts firefighters is in response to a request the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation received last week from the Northeast Forest Fire Protection Commission and the Northeastern Interagency Coordination Center at the White Mountain National Forest in Campden, New Hampshire.

The Northeast Forest Fire Protection Commission is a compact comprised of the six New England states, New York and four eastern Canadian provinces, including Quebec.

Massachusetts is one of the original members of the compact, which was formed in 1949 to provide interstate and international wildland fire mutual aid assistance, read the press release.

“These wildfires are continuing to rage, burning millions of acres of land and blowing smoke into Massachusetts that’s polluting our air,” said Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation Commissioner Brian Arrigo. “I’m proud that we are sending another crew of well-trained and dedicated firefighters to help our friends and partners in Quebec battle these intense blazes and stop further destruction of forests.”