A soaring number of calls and Winnipeg’s toxic drug crisis are putting a “tremendous” strain on firefighters and paramedics, who are forced to confront violence and suffer psychological injuries as a result, union leaders told the Free Press Thursday.
A new Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service report said opioid-related calls jumped by 1,372 per cent from 2016 to 2023.
“The unpredictable nature of these calls, these types of incidents, takes a psychological toll on our members,” United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg President Nick Kasper said.
Kasper said the spike in calls has put “tremendous” strain on staff. A separate city report in November said the number of approved Workers Compensation Board claims by WFPS members climbed to 120 per month in 2024 from about 40 per month in 2016.
