
‘Very impressive new facility': Winnipeg's newest firehall now open
Winnipeg's newest firehall is officially in operation.
The city unveiled the new Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service (WFPS) Station #9 in Windsor Park.
WFPS Chief Christian Schmidt said this new station has been designed to fit how Winnipeg is growing.
'This particular station combines two different older stations; the previous Station #9 on Marion Street and the previous Station #15, which was on this exact site,' Schmidt said. 'These two smaller stations had gotten older over time and had less space and capacity. This station places response efficiency and environmental efficiency at the forefront.'
The new station has five bays with a fire engine and crew. A rescue unit, the hazardous materials team, an ambulance and its crew, and a fire investigator are all housed at the station.
The station is also the first city building to have geothermal ground source heat pumps for both heating and cooling.
The building is expected to reduce emissions by 98.6 per cent compared to other buildings its size.
'The team has worked hard to reclaim wood from the previous buildings for use in this station and includes details down to ensuring that the shrubs around this property are drought resistant,' said Schmidt.
Winnipeg fire Station #9
The bays doors opened at Station #9 in Windsor Park on June 18, 2025. (Daniel Timmerman/CTV News Winnipeg)
'This is a very impressive new facility. It's one of the greenest buildings in the city's inventory, and it's going to help us deliver faster, more effective emergency service to Windsor Park and the surrounding neighbourhoods,' said Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham.
The $16 million building also features recovery ventilators, a training room, an air compressor, and bifold bay doors, which are supposed to reduce response times by 15 seconds.
'This reflects the kind of investment that we are making as a city and that our city needs to keep making as we grow - investments that strengthen public safety, public health, investments that modernize our infrastructure, investments that reduce our long-term impact on our environment,' said Gillingham.
This station is part of the WFPS master plan that came out in 2020, which highlights the need for stations in more strategic locations, which in turn will help with response times.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


CBC
28 minutes ago
- CBC
St. James swim team losing home pool to renovations until 2026 as Winnipeg faces wave of closures
A Winnipeg swim team has been left treading water as its home pool has once again closed for long-term renovations, and the closure of three more pools looms this fall. Josh Koldon, head coach of the St. James Seals, said the club will likely see its numbers drop as swimmers and coaches are forced to abandon the St. James Civic Centre Pool and drive across the city to find dwindling pool space. This season, the team has 85 swimmers, ranging from age four to 19. Koldon said the club had to rebuild its numbers after the civic centre pool was closed from April 2020 to September 2022 for building upgrades. The COVID-19 pandemic also impacted pool availability over that period. "Being prepared to lose those numbers, it sucks. It's heartbreaking," Koldon said. "We probably won't have a designated home pool for the next couple of years." The civic centre pool closed to the public on Sunday and won't reopen until the fall of 2026. The recreation centre, which was built in 1967, will get a new multipurpose room, additional meeting rooms, a new kitchen, an upgraded pool viewing area and shared program space for seniors, along with upgrades to the centre's auditorium and its parking lot. The city said the Seven Oaks, Elmwood-Kildonan and Margaret Grant pools are set for temporary closures in the fall, while the Bonivital pool remains closed for building renewal upgrades. The city has not shared details about closure timelines. The Cindy Klassen pool is currently closed for a circulation pump replacement, but the city said it is expected to reopen in the coming days. Wave of Winnipeg pool closures ripples through swim community 2 hours ago Duration 2:06 Several Winnipeg pools are now closed for repairs, renovations or replacement, leaving some swimmers concerned they could be left out to dry. The city says more work is scheduled for the fall, and it's trying to plan upgrades to minimize impacts on recreation facilities. The St. James Assiniboia Centennial Pool will remain open as the nearby civic centre closes for at least 14 months, which might mean busier lanes for swimmers at that pool. William Anderson, 14, swims there every Wednesday, and said pool access is important to him. However, he's not concerned about more swimmers joining him at his home pool. "I think I'll be fine," he said. As registration for the summer session of city-run swim lessons opened to the public Tuesday, the city said there are still many spaces available in classes, despite pool closures. The closure of the civic centre pool comes just over two months after the University of Manitoba had a serious leak at its pool and was forced to drain it in an emergency closure. Raman Dhaliwal, associate vice-president of administration at the U of M, said the leak is beyond repair and the 60-year-old Joyce Fromson Pool will be replaced. The pool is the designated practice space for the Bisons swim team. It is also used by students and the wider community for swim lessons and regular swim programming. The U of M pool is not expected to reopen until the spring of 2026, leaving university athletes without a home pool to train at. "The faculty is looking for alternative places for the Bison swim team to continue with their programming," Dhaliwal said. St. James Seals coach Koldon said the long-term pool closures at U of M and the civic centre, coupled with the upcoming temporary closures at multiple pools across the city this fall, will make finding lane space in Winnipeg a competitive sport. "There's going to be a lot of people looking for what space is available, and it'll be hard to divvy up who gets what," he said.


CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
‘Strays on Street Corners' hoping to raise $75,000 for the local humane society
The Windsor Essex County Humane Society is kicking off its biggest annual fundraiser on Thursday. The Windsor Essex County Humane Society is kicking off its biggest annual fundraiser on Thursday. The biggest fundraising event of the year for the Windsor-Essex County Humane Society (WECHS) is set for this coming weekend. Strays on Street Corners is set to begin Thursday and will run until Saturday. For three days, volunteers, animal lovers, and humane society staff will take to the street corners of Windsor-Essex, decked out in fluorescent orange shirts to collect donations in support of the organization. All proceeds from the event will go directly toward food, shelter, medical care, and adoption services for thousands of local animals. The event last year raised $60,000, but officials are hoping to raise $75,000 this year as they deal with a funding gap due to lower adoption revenue while at the same time, the shelter has been at capacity earlier than usual by this time of the year. Executive Director of the Windsor-Essex County Humane Society Lynnette Bain said they are a high-volume shelter. 'It's really difficult to raise the funds because we don't have government funding; it's all based on our donations,' she said. 'We've got such a generous community, but the need is so great. The volume of animals we have compared to cities of a similar size is almost four times.' The public can make a cash donation at one of the street corners, they can also donate by texting STRAYS to 20222 to give a one-time $10 donation or donate online. - Written by Rusty Thomson and Rob Hindi/AM800 News.


CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
‘Fills a critical need': YWCA Lethbridge opens new long-term transitional housing program
Officials at the YWCA Lethbridge and District hope a new program can help support women and children who are looking to move beyond crisis but still face safety and stability barriers. The YWCA launched its Hope program Wednesday afternoon. 'It's that medium phase, it's that second stage where individuals that are fleeing domestic violence or have experienced gender-based violence are able to move into more stable and grounding spaces where they can truly recover,' said CEO Jill Young. The program is the first-of-its-kind in Lethbridge and will offer life skills supports and case management to women and children fleeing domestic violence. The YWCA renovated one of its floors to include individual spaces and a communal kitchen -- doubling the number of beds available. Young says the length of stay in the program will be between six to 18 months, compared to the 21 to 30-day stay at the Harbour House Emergency Shelter. 'When you've already experienced a lot of various barriers in your life – including going through a very traumatic experience – being able to jump straight into market housing can be extremely difficult, so this really fills that gap,' Young explained. 'We are able to provide that long-term stability and allow that recovery to happen.' She says once individuals join the program, space within the Harbour House will become available, allowing for more women and children to access resources and emergency supports. YWCA Lethbridge and District YWCA Lethbridge and District. The City of Lethbridge provided nearly $600,000 in capital and operational funding for the program through the federal government's Reaching Home program. 'This project represents a critical housing need in our community with transitional beds,' said Andrew Malcolm, City of Lethbridge community social development general manager. The Hope program will be able to support between 12 to 18 women and children at a time, according to Young. In 2024, the YWCA Lethbridge and District provided more than 20,000 services and supports to women and children. The YWCA will begin to accept intake referrals for the program, with capacity expected to be reached within a month. 'This is not a women problem, this is not a gender problem, this is a people problem, and we need to continue to address and face what is happening in our community and across Canada,' said Young.