Safety issues curtail WFPS encampment fire prevention program

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This article was published 03/11/2023 (673 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service is changing how it responds to homeless encampments following serious safety concerns, which could result in longer response times for some less urgent complaints.

“We anticipate a decrease in the number of weekly encampment visits, which may lead to a higher wait time in addressing public concerns for some areas.

“As an example, when we received a complaint (prior to this), we were usually able to visit within two to three days if there were no pressing concerns (fire, bridge location, etc). Now that complaint may take closer to a week for a visit,” WFPS Chief Christian Schmidt wrote in an email to city councillors.

In an interview, Schmidt said staff will now attend such sites alone only on “very rare”’ occasions, after serious safety concerns arose in the last two months.

“We need to look at doing things differently in order to ensure the safety of our staff.”–WFPS Chief Christian Schmidt

“These involve a fire prevention officer… essentially working alone, and being subject to aggressive or erratic behaviour and, in a couple of situations, there were knives involved,” he said. “We need to look at doing things differently in order to ensure the safety of our staff.”

Schmidt said no physical injuries were reported and declined to offer additional details.

Fire-prevention role ends

WFPS has had a dedicated fire prevention officer handling encampment visits for the past 18 months, with others filling in when that employee wasn’t available.

That’s about to end, allowing the main officer to return to a previous role.

Rather than simply pairing up more WFPS staff in teams to attend sites at the same frequency, Schmidt said fire prevention officials will increasingly team up with city police and third-party service providers (such as Main Street Project, St. Boniface Street Links and Downtown Community Safety Partnership) for visits to the sites.

Schmidt said those pairings will take time to arrange and aren’t expected to be as frequent for less serious complaints.

His email notes WFPS visits paused entirely at one point in September, due to safety concerns, but returned a few days later with a shift to the team approach.

Schmidt said the process won’t simply pair up WFPS officers to attend sites because they already face heavy workloads ensuring buildings are safe, including rooming houses, nursing homes and hospitals.

While he said WFPS officials “share in the frustration” about longer wait times, Schmidt expects the shift to team responses will produce benefits.

“Each agency has specific skill sets, so it can be very powerful when you bring a team to a location to work with the encampment residents… The outreach service providers, some have lived experience, which can be very beneficial.”

More housing needed: mayor

Mayor Scott Gillingham said he respects the duty of WFPS officials to protect its staff and doesn’t believe all responses must be provided by city workers.

“To me, the bigger thing is making sure that these services get delivered.

“Whether it’s the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service who delivers them directly… or whether it’s a third party who delivers them, it’s ultimately about making sure… that people in the encampments are safe,” said Gillingham.

The mayor said his ultimate goal is to reduce the number of people living in encampments, not just the risks of living in one.

“We need more housing to address people who are struggling with homelessness.”

Coun. Evan Duncan, chairman of the community services committee, said he thinks the partnership between the City of Winnipeg and other agencies could help.

“We’re not abandoning this, that’s not the case at all. It’s (just) not appropriate to have one person take on the whole weight of dealing with encampments,” said Duncan.

The councillor said he hopes a WFPS proposal to add another full-time staff position dedicated to assisting people in encampments is approved in the city’s next budget.

Schmidt noted WFPS is exploring options to create a dedicated position.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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