Dozens of city firefighters drop paramedic program By: Joyanne Pursaga Posted: 7:00 PM CST Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020 Last Modified: 9:26 AM CST Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020 Updates

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This article was published 17/11/2020 (1805 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The City of Winnipeg is coping with a “mass exodus” of firefighter-paramedics.

In an online letter, United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg president Alex Forrest revealed that dozens of firefighters have left the primary-care paramedic program during the last year. Most abandoned it in the past two months and have returned to a firefighter classification.

Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service confirmed there had been 373 firefighter-paramedics, but the number will soon drop to 310. A further decrease is expected next year.

WFPS and Forrest said at least 240 firefighter-paramedics are needed to ensure the full complement of fire trucks is capable of providing a paramedic response.

“We will still be able to respond to all medical interventions. However, we all agree the more fire paramedics in the system, the more efficient we are at providing the highest standard of paramedic care,” wrote Forrest.

A WFPS webpage notes firefighters who are trained as primary-care paramedics may provide manual defibrillation and administer some drugs.

“… we ask all our (firefighter-paramedics) to not put in their letter to be removed from the program. At this time of pandemic disaster in our community, we ask that our members maintain our response capacity.”
– UFFW president Alex Forrest, in an online letter

Forrest urged firefighters to stick with the program, stating it’s now even more important to keep as many skilled staff as possible, because illness and isolation periods have forced some firefighters to stay home during the pandemic.

“At this time, we ask all our (firefighter-paramedics) to not put in their letter to be removed from the program. At this time of pandemic disaster in our community, we ask that our members maintain our response capacity,” wrote Forrest.

In an interview, Forrest linked many of the departures to a new requirement that all paramedics register with the new College of Paramedics of Manitoba by Dec. 1, while they are also coping with pandemic pressures. He said affected firefighters lack clear information on how to pay, register and insure themselves to complete registration.

“It’s an immense task being asked of (them) at this time,” he said.

“We discussed the increased attacks upon the (firefighter-paramedics), both in the media and social media platforms. We discussed the increased attacks and baseless complaints against our firefighters on calls and in the stations.”
– UFFW president Alex Forrest

Forrest said the union wants WFPS to ask the province to delay the self-regulation process until the end of the pandemic.

The online letter mentions that some firefighters have been subjected to public criticism. The union said the issue was discussed with WFPS.

“We discussed the increased attacks upon the (firefighter-paramedics), both in the media and social media platforms. We discussed the increased attacks and baseless complaints against our firefighters on calls and in the stations,” the letter states.

Paramedic accuses firefighters of refusing to help injured Indigenous woman

Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Monday, Oct. 19, 2020

A city paramedic has accused two of his firefighter colleagues of refusing to treat an Indigenous woman who’d been stabbed in the throat — an incident described by the complainant as “racially motivated.”

Read full story

Forrest declined to elaborate.

The Free Press has reported that two firefighters were accused of failing to provide care for an Indigenous women who was stabbed in the throat in October. Prior to that, some firefighters were accused of making racist statements online. The city has said it is investigating both allegations, neither of which has been proven.

A request to interview fire Chief John Lane was not granted on Tuesday.

In an emailed statement, WFPS spokeswoman Erin Madden confirmed a “significant number” of firefighter-paramedics recently asked to withdraw their paramedic status.

“We are working with the labour group to understand the reasons for this. As in past years, some members are withdrawing… for personal reasons … The advent of the College of Paramedics of Manitoba may (also) be playing a role, as there is uncertainty with any sort of major governance change,” wrote Madden.

The statement did not say whether the WFPS will ask the province to delay that requirement.

Madden called the number of withdrawal requests “somewhat concerning” but stressed WFPS is “confident it will be able to maintain having a licensed paramedic on each apparatus we dispatch.”

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“We will be working with labour leadership to ensure the needs of the department are sufficiently met in order to continue to provide the same high-level service that Winnipeg residents currently receive,” wrote Madden.

She said 63 firefighters who withdrew from the program will see the change take effect immediately. Madden added 17 more withdrawals will take effect in 2021, followed by one in 2022.

Joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga

Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter

Born and raised in Winnipeg, Joyanne loves to tell the stories of this city, especially when politics is involved. Joyanne became the city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press in early 2020.

   Read full biography