two perish in the line of duty

It is with much sorrow that I must let you know that two of our senior Captains made the ultimate sacrifice and perished in the line of duty last evening while fighting a heavily involved two story residential fire.  Despite the tremendous efforts of many on scene and at the hospital, the two succumbed to their injuries.  We also had four members injured at this fire; one is in stable condition in hospital, one is in critical condition, and two have been treated in hospital and released.

At this point we are not able to release the names of our fallen and injured as some family members have not been notified.  Out of respect for the wishes of the families, we are waiting until all proper notifications have been made before releasing any names. 

This is an extremely difficult time for all members of the Service, our families, and those close to us.  We sincerely appreciate the wishes and prayers being sent to us from all of our colleagues abroad and we know that many are with us at this difficult time and in particular, with the families of our fallen comrades. 

I as all of you, are extremely proud of the work done by our professionals, day in and day out, to keep our citizens safe.  At this time, our priority is to provide support to each other and to the families of our colleagues while we continue to provide exceptional emergency services to the citizens of Winnipeg. 

I will provide you with updates as more information becomes available. 

Sincerely,
Jim Brennan
Acting Fire & Paramedic Chief
City of Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service

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