08/30/2026
“You become numb. You start to lose a little bit of compassion. You don’t feel like you’ve made a difference.”
That quote says a lot about what Winnipeg’s firefighters and firefighter-paramedics are being asked to carry right now.
The Winnipeg Free Press spent 12 hours with crews at Station 1, the busiest fire and paramedic hall in the city, and captured a side of the job the public rarely gets to see.
The constant calls. The unfinished meals. The overdoses. The violence. The frustration. The physical and mental fatigue that builds when crews are repeatedly responding to the same crises, often with fewer resources than the system needs.
In 2025, WFPS responded to more than 136,000 calls, a 30% increase over five years. Opioid-related responses have continued to climb dramatically, placing even more pressure on an already strained system.
One District Chief summed it up simply:
“We’re stressing resources, stressing the firefighters, the physical fatigue, mental fatigue.”
And through all of it, our members continue to answer the call.
This article gives an important and incredibly candid look at the reality facing the people on the front lines of Winnipeg’s emergency response system every single day.
A sincere thank you to Scott Billeck, photographer Robert Lee, and the Winnipeg Free Press team for spending the time with our members and telling their story.
Take a few minutes and read this one. It’s worth it.
