With 911 call volumes rising, WFPS develops new five-priority dispatch system

A person injured in an assault, a car crashing into a house and a possible overdose made up three of the 195 calls for help made to the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic 911 Communications Centre while CBC spent time with them last week.

Scott Wilkinson, the deputy chief of fire rescue operations and training for the WFPS, said the number of calls to first responders has increased in recent years. 

"We've seen a vast, a significant increase in all of our calls, including our medical response calls, our fire calls and our overall number of rescue incidents as well," said Wilkinson. 

The amount of calls for service for firefighters and paramedics is one reason the WFPS plans to change how it dispatches crews.

"The volume itself is a challenge, I mean we're experiencing burnout by some of our staff with the amount of volumes of calls," he said. "The types of calls are an issue, we're seeing an uptick in violence."

Data from the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service shows the number of medical-related calls for service was 81,241 in 2018. In 2023, that number was 109,558. 

Data for 2024 ranges from Jan. 1 to Sept. 30.

The number of calls related to fires and rescue operations during that time also increased. The data shows there were 18,966 calls in 2018 and 20,630 in 2023.

Data for fires in 2024 includes first 6 months of the year. WFPS said *null reflects reports where the property class is not defined.

Officials say they want to ensure crews are available and can get to critical emergencies or priority one calls in under nine minutes.

Ryan Sneath, deputy chief of paramedic operations and training, said those-time dependent calls, such as a stroke or heart attack, won't change under the service's new five-priority system.

"So right now our call categories are priority one lights and sirens or priority two no lights and sirens. And so we'll be shifting to ... five priority categories," he said.

The rest of the calls will fit into the other four categories based on the information given by callers to those at the WFPS 911 Communications Centre.

In those other categories, crews won't use lights and sirens to get there, Sneath explained. A portion will go to a community paramedic in the dispatch centre to determine whether it's necessary to send out a team, or, if they can be helped over the phone, he said.