AN EX-Hampshire fireman has been hailed as a hero for safely evacuating an entire city from a massive wildfire in Canada.

Darby Allen led efforts to take 88,000 people to safety as a mammoth inferno raged through Fort McMurray, Alberta.

With no injuries reported, Canadians have united to praise Mr Allen, who served Hampshire Fire Brigade between 1984 and 1990.

Hampshire group manager Jason Avery said: "Our thoughts on #IFFD (International Firefighter Day) are with chief Darby Allen, ex-Hampshire firefighter now tackling the fire of his career".

A state of emergency has been declared in the province and officials say much of Fort McMurray could be destroyed as the fire enters its sixth day.

Fighting back tears at a press conference, Mr Allen told reporters: "We successfully evacuated 88,000 people.

"No one is hurt and no one is passed away right now.

"I really hope we get to the end of this and we can still say that.

"We are here, we are strong and we will keep doing our job."

Born in Birmingham, Mr Allen moved to Canada in 1990 with his wife Maria and two sons, Gary and Steve.

He had served as a lead fireman in Portsmouth for six years.

At Calgary Fire Department he rose from a rank-and-file firefighter to assistant deputy chief before becoming regional chief for Wood Buffalo in 2011.

Much of his career has been spent training other firefighters.

Canadian radio host Charles Adler tweeted yesterday: "On behalf of a grateful nation, thank you Darby Allen, #FtMcMurray fire chief, for exceptional leadership".

The blaze started on Sunday and seemed on its way to being neutralised on Tuesday morning, but it overwhelmed firefighters when winds shifted drastically in mid-afternoon to the south west of the city.

More than 1,600 have been torched, but Scott Long, of Alberta Emergency, said the centre of town was being held "through some Herculean efforts" of firefighters.

Three more communities were evacuated yesterday as changing weather patterns raised the threat in the heart of Canada's oil sands.

Fort McMurray is the city around the third largest oil reserves in the world behind Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.