Winnipeg employs firefighter-paramedics to provide both fire-suppression and advanced medical services to address chronic ambulance shortages and long emergency-response times.
This integrated model is critical because the city's emergency infrastructure is struggling to meet demand. When ambulance crews are stretched thin, the lack of available vehicles can lead to delays in life-saving care for residents.
Firefighter-paramedics are cross-trained emergency responders who fight fires, perform rescues, and provide advanced medical care. By acting as both firefighters and ambulance crews, these professionals create a more resilient service model. Ainsley McPhail said these responders are trained to handle both fire emergencies and medical calls to help fill the gap when ambulance crews are stretched thin [3].
The United Firefighters of Winnipeg (UFFW), which represents the combined workforce, has raised alarms regarding the severity of the resource gap. Mike McGowan, president of the UFFW, said the city is seeing unacceptable and dangerously long response times because there are not enough ambulances on the road [2].
Operational data highlights the volatility of the system. Jennifer Smith, a spokesperson for the UFFW, said only nine of the 19 [1] ambulances owned by the city were operational on one specific Saturday [1]. This means less than half of the city's fleet was available to serve the public during that period.
While the firefighter-paramedic model has been in place for several years, it became a focal point of public discussion in 2025 as the ambulance shortage intensified [1, 2, 3]. The strategy aims to ensure that medical intervention reaches patients faster by utilizing the wide distribution of fire stations across the city.
“We’re seeing unacceptable and dangerously long response times because we simply don’t have enough ambulances on the road.”
The reliance on firefighter-paramedics indicates a systemic failure in the traditional ambulance-only medical response model. By merging these roles, Winnipeg is attempting to create a 'fail-safe' where fire stations act as secondary medical hubs, reducing the risk that a patient will wait for an ambulance that is either out of service or unavailable due to staffing shortages.
