Fort McMurray man credits wildfire for weight loss

Tony Bussey is shown in this before and after photo that shows his weight loss in this handout combination photo. A Fort McMurray man is crediting the wildfire that devastated his Alberta city with saving his life by finally motivating him to lose more than half his body weight.Forty-three-year-old Tony Bussey, who works in the tire shop at Suncor's oilsands plant, weighed 567 pounds when the fires surrounded his workplace in 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - Tony Bussey

A Fort McMurray man is crediting the wildfire that devastated the city with saving his life by motivating him to lose more than half his body weight.

Tony Bussey, who is 43, works in the tire shop at Suncor’s oilsands plant and weighed 567 pounds when flames surrounded his workplace in 2016.

Employees were evacuated from the plant.

Bussey’s size meant he had to take up two coveted seats on the plane out.

He says he realized that his weight had put someone else in danger by forcing that person to wait for the next flight.

He changed his diet and began a program of ever-longer walks and now carries 240 pounds on his five-foot-eight frame.

Bussey says the loss of 327 pounds has entirely transformed his life.

He’s been able to return to his home province of Newfoundland and Labrador for his first visit since coming west and has applied for a passport to fulfill his lifelong dream of travel.