Self-Guiding Tour

#16    WWI, WWII and the Winnipeg Fire Department

During both World War I and II, many of Winnipeg’s firefighters took up arms and fought for the Canadian military overseas. The number of firefighters that left caused major staffing shortages in the department which were filled by new members. If it wasn’t for unionization, many of these new firefighters would have lost their jobs to the returning ones at the end of the war.

During World War II, many firefighters joined the normal branches of the military but a large portion of them joined the Corps of Canadian Firefighters; a contingent of over 400 Canadian firefighters that were sent to England to help British firefighters during German bombing raids. This corps was originally headed up by the chief of the Winnipeg fire department at the time, Chief Boulden.

After the war, Winnipeg saw an opportunity to expand its ranks by hiring returning soldiers. Although most of these soldiers were older than the average recruit, they had experience with both stressful situations and with tools making them perfect candidates for the fire department. A 124-person recruit class was held; the largest recruit class in Winnipeg’s history. Because of the sheer number of new hires, Winnipeg was able to add an entirely new shift, bringing weekly working hours for firefighters from 72 to 48.

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