Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 31, 2024, Winnipeg, Manitoba SUPER SPIKES! Introducing Winston Churchquill! Meet Winston and more animals with super skills at Defenses of the Animal Kingdom on now at the Doug Harvey, Jan Shute & Family Centre at the Zoo. Plan your visit today! Included with Zoo admission | Buy tickets online and save 10% SERVING MANITOBA SINCE 1872. FOREVER WITH YOUR SUPPORT. WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2024 WEATHER THUNDERSTORM. HIGH 29 — LOW 17 CITY CYCLISTS CALL FOR SAFER STREETS / B1 WFPS, firefighters union sound alarm over increasing strain on crews Vacant-property fires set record pace V ACANT-PROPERTY fires in Winnipeg are occurring at a record-breaking pace this year, leading exhausted firefighters to turn down overtime to battle the problem that is “starting to spiral out of control.” According to city data reviewed by the Free Press, fire crews had, as of June 30, respond- ed to 114 blazes at vacant properties. In all of 2023, there were 156 such fires, the most ever recorded. “I’m surprised the numbers weren’t higher,” said Tom Bilous, president of the United Fire- fighters of Winnipeg. Of the total blazes, Winnipeg Fire Paramed- ic Service personnel extinguished fires at 57 vacant buildings and 15 outdoor properties up to June 30 this year. In 2023, the number was 82 buildings and 17 outdoor properties. Grass fires, blazes in trash bins, vehicles, storage properties and miscellaneous fires at vacant properties made up the rest of the total numbers. In 2023, WFPS responded to 3,389 fires — an increase of approximately 33 per cent over 2022 and an 87 per cent increase since 2019. The majority of the 2023 spike was attributable to outdoor incidents. The pressure vacant building fires put on city fire crews is prompting emergency responders to turn down overtime pay to look after their physical and mental health. “(Firefighters) are saying, ‘No, I’ve been to five, six, 10 fires in the last week and I need a few days off with my family,’” Bilous said. “We cannot get enough members to come in. It’s starting to spiral out of control…. The city needs to know that they cannot overtime themselves out of this problem.” Claims related to physical and psychologi- cal injury have climbed due to repeated and multiple responses to vacant property fires. Members are expressing a general sense of fatigue, exhaustion, frustration and helpless- ness, he said. NICOLE BUFFIE Ponds loaded with algae after herbicide halt ordered RETENTION ponds around Winnipeg are packed with algae and murkier than usual this summer after the city stopped using a previously approved herbicide to clean the man-made bod- ies of water. Diquat, known by the brand name Reward, is a common aquatic herbicide used by municipalities to limit plant growth in retention ponds. The product has been registered for use in Canada since 2000. But a discrepancy in the product’s la- bel was reported to the province earli- er this year. An inquiry found Reward is authorized only for the treatment of aquatic invasive species, and the city’s licence to use it was revoked in the spring. “We were only made aware of the issue when our licence was changed,” a city spokesperson said Tuesday. The manufacturer’s product label indicates it can be used in open bodies of water — including retention ponds — that drain into water where fish live. However, the federal Fisheries Act does not allow chemicals to be used in water where fish live unless it’s specifically applied to control aquatic invasive species, a provincial spokes- person told the Free Press Tuesday. It is unclear who brought the issue to the province’s attention. One Whyte Ridge resident said he’s noticed a difference in the amount of algae in the pond near his home. “The algae in some years is quite a bit worse than other years,” said Larry Rigaux, who has lived in the neigh- bourhood for 24 years. “This is one of the bad years. It seems to be evident across the whole (pond)… it started several weeks ago and it’s still building up, I think.” Rigaux’s home is on Georgetown Drive, which runs along one of two retention ponds in the area. The other is located near Scurfield Park. Rigaux, who is in his 80s, said he still sees ducks and other waterfowl swimming in the pond, but the surface is “quite covered” with algae. Several people in the community have talked to him about the amount of vegetation growing in the water, he said. “It’s quite unsightly,” he said. “It’s not the end of the world but it would be nice to have a clear pond.” JURA MCILRAITH Police suspect bear killed man missing in northern First Nation CONSERVATION officers are head- ed to Shamattawa First Nation after human remains were found in what police believe may have been a bear attack — the second to occur in the area within the last week. Mounties in the community, located about 360 kilometres east of Thomp- son, received reports of a missing 60-year-old man Monday at about 11 a.m. A short time later, community mem- bers located human remains in a wood- ed area near a path, Manitoba RCMP said in a news release Tuesday. The remains are believed to belong to the missing man and the death is being attributed to possible “animal predation,” the release said. “There is evidence to suggest a bear was involved. However, we need to have an autopsy completed in order to determine cause of death, for exam- ple, to determine if the person may have been injured or dead before the attack,” RCMP spokeswoman Cpl. Julie Courchaine said. “We need to explore all possibilities.” Another man was confronted by a bear inside a home in the First Nation last week and suffered minor injuries, Courchaine said, adding there has been an increased presence of the animals within the community. Local RCMP officers, who also live in the community, are aware of the increased number of bears in the area and have been patrolling and respond- ing to sighting reports. Police have been in contact with the province, which dispatched several conservation officers in the wake of the attacks, she said. Area residents are asked to remain “careful and vigilant” and should re- port any additional sightings to police or conservation officers, she added. A provincial spokesperson said con- servation officers are there to assist in the investigation, but it is “too early to speculate” about the animal involved in the attack. TYLER SEARLE ADRIAN WYLD / THE CANADIAN PRESS CANADA SCORES SILVER Canada forward Alysha Corrigan just gets away from New Zealand back Portia Woodman-Wickliffe to score Canada’s second try in the women’s rugby sevens gold medal match Tuesday at the Olympics in Paris. Canada fell 19-12, winning silver in the squad’s best finish / D3 MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS ● FIRES, CONTINUED ON A3 ● PONDS, CONTINUED ON A2 ● BEAR, CONTINUED ON A2 The scene of a recent fire at a boarded-up bungalow. ;