The suicide of a Winnipeg firefighter this month has prompted the province to increase access to mental health supports for first responders.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
The Manitoba government is dedicating three new counsellors to improve access to mental-health support for first responders after a Winnipeg firefighter died by suicide this month.
Premier Wab Kinew said the province is still working out the details on the assistance, but fire, paramedic and police departments will each have a counsellor tailored to their needs.
“This tragedy puts into very stark detail the challenges around post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental-health issues that people are living through,” Mr. Kinew said during a tribute to the family of Preston Heinbigner held at the Manitoba Legislature on Monday.
Mr. Heinbigner, a father to his almost two-year-old son Oslo, had a second child on the way at the time of his death on April 9. Family and friends have described him as a kind and genuine person with magnetic energy and a huge smile.
“April 9th should not be marked as a day of pain and sadness, but rather a day that caused everyone to pause, a day that started a discussion, and a day that brought about change,” said his wife, Shayda Tashakor, during the funeral service last week.
Tom Bilous, president of United Firefighters of Winnipeg Local 867, said the death of Mr. Heinbigner has shaken Manitoba firefighters to the core and revealed shortcomings about the province’s capacity to provide timely mental-health care to first responders.
“People sometimes cannot wait weeks or months to get in to see a psychologist or psychiatrist. We know that our members are usually in a pretty bad state by the time they reach out,” Mr. Bilous said in an interview Tuesday.
He said it would be beneficial for firefighters, at the very least, to have a mandatory annual check-in with a mental-health professional to discuss any challenges they are facing and assess whether they struggle with mental illness.
Mr. Bilous said he wants to continue the discussions with the provincial government about improving support for first responders because it would be a way to honour Mr. Heinbigner and others who have experienced post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental-health problems.
There are 986 firefighters with the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service and more than 10 per cent of union members have filed a psychological injury claim through the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba, he said.
From 2018 to 2022, data from the board shows the number of accepted claims for post-traumatic stress disorder was 70, but that is just a portion of the total number of psychological injury claims for police, firefighters and paramedics.
The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service created a behavioural health unit in 2021 that is staffed by a psychologist and a behavioural health nurse. In the past couple weeks, they’ve added a second nurse as more firefighters are reaching out to receive support after losing their colleague.
Mr. Bilous, a captain in the Winnipeg fire department with more than 31 years of experience, said “the days of ‘suck it up buttercup’ are way behind us and members are much more supportive and engaged toward helping one another.”
He remembers responding to a near drowning of a child years ago – an incident that hit close to home because he had young children at the time.
A critical incident peer support team, which consists of firefighters who have received special trauma-informed training and is still used today, held a debriefing for everyone who responded to that near-drowning call, he said.
“It’s hard to get that out of your head and that’s where we need to turn to mental-health professionals,” Mr. Bilous said. “Every event affects every member different.”
Mr. Bilous said the silver lining to the loss of one of its members is that captains, lieutenants and officers are speaking with their crews to discuss mental health and how it’s important to follow up on what may appear as fleeting comments or firehall banter, but may actually be a warning sign of someone who is struggling.
During the tribute to Mr. Heinbigner at the Manitoba Legislature on Monday, former firefighter and NDP MLA David Pankratz spoke of his own experience.
“The work we do exposes us to relentless stress and trauma, and acknowledging when we’re not okay is the first step toward healing. True resiliency is found when we break the silence and make space to share the quiet battles within us.”