The Westport Fire Department is welcoming back one of its own after an 18-day trip out west battling wildfires.

Assistant Chief Michael Kronick and a group of five other firefighters from across the state made the trip out west as part of the Connecticut State Fire Crew.

They contained fires in Idaho and Montana with the help of White Mountain National Forest employees.

Kronick, who has been fighting wildfires for 16 years, says they are called to action when wildfires increase, especially in the summer months.

He says wildfires there are much bigger than in Connecticut and can take days or even months to put out.

Kronick says fighting wildfires has prepared him for natural disasters back home, like Superstorm Sandy.

As an added bonus, he says each time he goes out on a wildfire trip he makes a group of lifelong friends.