Hire more firefighters, majority of Winnipeggers say

A large majority of Winnipeggers want the city to boost its hiring of front-line firefighters next year, a new survey finds.

A Probe Research survey, commissioned by the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg, found 82 per cent want the city to hire more firefighters than the 2026 budget proposes, while 14 per cent supported the budget’s plan. One per cent said the city should hire fewer firefighters and three per cent were unsure.

A union leader said the poll shows the public shares its belief the hiring plan falls far short of what’s needed.

“We’re ringing the warning bell. We’re telling (the city), you need to act now before it gets worse than it already is. We’re at a breaking point,” said Nick Kasper, president of UFFW.

The city’s 2026 preliminary budget proposes to add 10 additional full-time firefighter positions in each of the next four years.

At a recent community services committee meeting, Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service Chief Christian Schmidt confirmed the service asked for 40 more firefighters in 2026 during initial budget talks.

The union is now pushing for at least that amount.

“We expect we would still need more staff (later) but if we were to get 40 in 2026 … that would have a significant impact on our overtime costs and on the health and well-being of the staff,” said Kasper.

Less than half (41 per cent) of the Winnipeggers Probe surveyed agreed they were strongly or somewhat satisfied with the number of firefighters and paramedics in Winnipeg, with 34 per cent somewhat or strongly dissatisfied and 26 per cent unsure.

“I’ve never (before) in my career experienced a 15-minute response time to a structure fire or a cardiac arrest and I have half a dozen examples of that … from this year alone.”

The survey also found 94 per cent preferred hiring permanent firefighters to reduce overtime spending, instead of continuing to rely on overtime and the current staff level.

Ninety-one per cent said they believe increased overtime is negatively affecting firefighters’ health, safety, and mental well-being.

Kasper said firefighters are working excessive amounts of overtime to keep up demand, raising the risk of burnout and injuries, amid repeated exposure to trauma.

“Our members need their days off to recover, to rehabilitate,” he said.

Kasper said a staff shortage is also delaying some emergency responses well past the national target of four minutes for the first truck to arrive.

“I’ve never (before) in my career experienced a 15-minute response time to a structure fire or a cardiac arrest and I have half a dozen examples of that … from this year alone,” said Kasper.

Mayor Scott Gillingham said the survey doesn’t reflect the city’s overall strategy to reduce pressure on firefighters, which goes beyond just new positions. He said the city should stick with its budget proposal.

“It’s about adding 10 (full-time staff positions) to a resource pool but it’s about more than that. It’s about getting firefighters and paramedics (who are off work) healthy and, for those who can, getting them to return to work,” said Gillingham. “(If you just) hire a lot more people into the same system, I think you’re going to get the same outcomes.”

The mayor noted the budget also includes a new WFPS wellness clinic, while city council will soon consider an initiative to reduce the number of derelict buildings in Winnipeg, which are at high risk of fire. He also highlighted a plan to design a fourth emergency service to handle mental health calls, which aims to let firefighters focus more on medical and fire response.

Winnipeg recently saw its Fire Underwriters Survey ranking improve for larger buildings, which measures how well communities prepare to battle fires, fire-prevention programs and fire code enforcement, the mayor noted.

“We’re making improvements, we’re making investments in resources, we’re making investments in our fire paramedic service.”

“We’re making improvements, we’re making investments in resources, we’re making investments in our fire paramedic service,” he said.

Probe Research conducted the online survey between Dec. 4 and 9, a few weeks after the city released its preliminary 2026 budget. The survey included 523 Winnipeg adults drawn from Probe’s online panel. No margin of error can be determined.

Council’s executive policy committee is slated to offer its final recommendations for the city’s 2026 budget Tuesday, before a final city council budget vote on Wednesday.

Coun. Vivian Santos (Point Douglas), chairwoman of council’s community services committee, declined comment until the Wednesday council meeting.

WFPS officials also declined comment prior to the meeting.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter

Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne.

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