Meeting city savings target would take some fire trucks off street: report

Meeting city savings target would take some fire trucks off street: report

The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service says the only way to reach a cost-saving directive from the city is by taking some fire vehicles off the street while staffing is low.

A report on the WFPS’s overtime mitigation strategy goes to council’s community services committee next week.

The report says taking vehicles off the street “creates operational risk” depending on the number and severity of fires.

The report notes this year’s budget includes a $3-million expenditure management target for the department. The savings need to be found within the fire service, reads the report, as emergency medical services are funded by the province through Shared Health.

The only option to save cash would be to reduce the amount spent on overtime, the report contends, by temporarily taking up to five WFPS vehicles out of service when less than 167 full-time equivalent firefighters are working at a time.

United Firefighters of Winnipeg union president Tom Bilous is firmly against taking any fire vehicles off the street, saying it would increase the workload of firefighters, impact their safety and create risk to the public. He suggested raising taxes instead.

Coun. Evan Duncan (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood), who chairs the community services committee, says he doesn’t want cost-saving measures to affect operations. He suggested there will need to be further discussions about finding cost savings elsewhere in the service, not on salaries.

WFPS Chief Christian Schmidt is expected to discuss the matter with reporters on Thursday afternoon.

The total WFPS 2024 proposed budget is $237.2-million, up from $226.5-million in the 2023 budget. It is the second-highest funded city department, after the Winnipeg Police Service.

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