Understaffing near ‘unsafe’ levels: Brandon firefighter union urges City to increase funds for emergency services
Posted May 5, 2026 7:33 pm.
The Brandon union representing firefighters is urging the City to increase emergency services funding, as last week’s incident had the resources stretched thin, leaving civilians and a firefighter with minor injuries.
“It really puts their safety at risk,” said Gage Wood, the president of IAFF Local 803. “It was a massive fire. And we just didn’t have people to send there. There were also 2 fires within our general response area.”
Just five minutes south of Brandon, a grass fire broke out Friday afternoon. Originally, five crew members were sent on the call, but Wood says, despite the team’s efforts, first responders were not able to sustain the fire.
The first responders had to resort to overtime, and activated mutual aid, meaning fire crews from neighbouring Regional Municipalities were called in to help.
Wood says firefighters were there for almost 10 hours trying to protect properties.
“So when civilians are getting injured trying to help us, that’s a big problem. We should have the people to save the civilians, not the other way around,” said Wood.
Terry Parlow, chief of Brandon Fire & Emergency Services, says the incident was not necessarily a result of poor staffing and added that the services continually need more funding.
CityNews reached out to Minister of Municipal and Northern Affairs Glen Simard, but we did not hear back.
“We are having a lot of conversations with the City and Shared Health about staffing. We are continuing to have these conversations and looking for solutions,” said Parlow.
Avery Sydor says that when the fire started, they had to evacuate their home, and so did all the other five properties in the area. She says, the smell of smoke lingered in the house for days.
“Our house was first in line to be tormented by the fire, and it was so scary,” Sydor explained.
Josie Lehman says the fire was on her mother’s property and described the whole scene as unsettling.
“She was very panicked, she didn’t know what to do. And the fire department was in our yard. She was really concerned, because there was a handful of guys and it just wasn’t enough,” said Lehman.
Unlike Winnipeg, Brandon relies on dual roll service, meaning all firefighters are also trained as paramedics and respond to not only fires but also other emergencies.
Wood says the City needs at least 110 staffers to adequately respond to increasing call volumes.
“So, we were really stretched to the limit on Friday. And it’s what we’ve been saying, but it’s finally being exposed, unfortunately,” said Wood.
