How to Become a Firefighter with the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service

Requirements & Eligibility

The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service (WFPS) is a fully integrated fire and EMS organization, and that changes what recruitment looks like here. Unlike a fire-only department, WFPS runs both fire and medical calls from the same crews, and it hires into two distinct entry classifications: Firefighter and Firefighter Paramedic. Understanding which stream you fit is the single most important thing to sort out before you apply, because the qualifications are genuinely different.

The Firefighter stream is aimed at candidates who are already certified firefighters. WFPS is clear in its application manual that it wants pre-trained people — you are expected to arrive with your firefighting credentials in hand, not to be trained from zero. At time of application you must provide:

• Proof of legal eligibility to work in Canada.
• Proof of a Grade 12 high school diploma, GED, or equivalent. Credentials earned outside Canada must be assessed to a Canadian Grade 12 equivalent.
• Advanced or Industrial First Aid certification based on an 80–120 hour comprehensive Advanced/Industrial First Aid or Emergency Medical Responder (EMR) training program (CPMB accreditation not required), plus a Basic Life Support (BLS) or CPR-C certificate.
• IFSAC or Pro Board accredited NFPA 1001 — Fire Fighting Practices Level I and II.

Several further certificates are listed as preferred rather than required, and they can strengthen a competitive file: NFPA 1002 (Apparatus Driver/Operator, including pump operations and emergency vehicle driving), NFPA 1006 (Surface Water Rescue Technician), NFPA 1031 (Fire Inspector Level I), and Vehicle Rescue. If you are building a resume for a service like this, our firefighter resume service can help you present these certifications so a hiring committee sees them at a glance.

The Firefighter Paramedic stream is the true differentiator of the Winnipeg system. Instead of firefighter certification, this stream requires a valid Primary Care Paramedic (PCP) licence from the College of Paramedics of Manitoba, backed by a PCP program certificate accredited by the Canadian Medical Association (before February 2018) or Accreditation Canada (after February 2018). You do not need the licence in hand to apply, but it is required before an offer of employment, and out-of-province applicants must transfer their licence to Manitoba before their first day of recruit training. Once hired, all WFPS members — firefighters and firefighter paramedics alike — are considered health care workers and respond to both fire and medical emergencies.

A few conditions apply to both streams and are verified at the conditional-offer stage, so you do not submit them up front: a valid Manitoba Class 4 driver's licence with air brake endorsement (Class 3 is an asset), a clean driver's abstract and driver safety rating no worse than minus four, a Police Information Check and Vulnerable Sector Check, Child Abuse and Adult Abuse Registry checks, and WFPS vision, hearing, and immunization standards. The vision standard is far visual acuity no worse than 20/40 binocular corrected, with a tighter emergency-driving standard where a Class 1–4 licence is needed. Firefighters and paramedics are health care workers, so a full immunization record (MMR, varicella, polio, hepatitis B, tetanus, tuberculosis screening, influenza and more) is part of the package.

The Aptitude Test

Here is the honest, important part — and it is where a lot of generic firefighter advice will steer you wrong. Winnipeg does not use any of the five standardized English-Canada firefighter aptitude exams (OFAI FACT, CPS, OS/Gledhill-Shaw, NFST, or FireTEAM/NTN). OFAI, in particular, is an Ontario-only system and has nothing to do with WFPS.

Instead, once you clear the pre-screen and pay the processing fee, WFPS puts Firefighter-stream applicants through the Fire General Knowledge Written Assessment. This is a City-run, closed fire-theory test, and WFPS notes its questions are compatible with several standard texts — the 3rd and 4th editions of Fundamentals of Fire Fighter Skills by Jones & Bartlett and the Canadian 3rd Edition. You have two hours, and you must successfully complete it to move on. The application manual includes a set of sample questions at the back specifically so candidates can familiarize themselves with the format — that manual is the best free study aid there is for this test, so download it and work the samples.

Because this is a fire-theory knowledge test tied to those textbooks — not a cognitive aptitude exam — our aptitude preparation product does not map to it, and we are not going to pretend otherwise. Our aptitude prep is built for the five standardized English-Canada exams listed above; it is excellent value if you are also testing with departments that use those systems, but it will not teach you the NFPA 1001 fire-ground theory that the Winnipeg written test draws on. To see which departments across Canada use which system, browse our firefighter aptitude test directory. For Winnipeg specifically, the winning move is to know your Fundamentals of Fire Fighter Skills cold and rehearse with the sample questions in the official manual.

One more detail worth flagging: the written test is not the only screening gate. Firefighter-stream applicants also face a Step 3 practical assessment — an Aerial Ladder Confidence Climb and a Confined Space Confidence Maze — before they reach the panel interview. There is no separate EMR/PCP-level medical exam for Firefighter-stream applicants; Firefighter Paramedic applicants are qualified through their PCP licence rather than a WFPS medical assessment.

Hiring Process & Timeline

WFPS runs a seven-step selection process, and failing to meet the minimum at any step ends your candidacy for that recruitment. Applications are only accepted during an open, advertised recruitment — there is no rolling intake. Postings appear on winnipeg.ca/hr and the WFPS careers page, so the first job is to monitor those pages and be ready to move fast when a window opens.

• Step 1 — Application / Pre-Screen. You submit a complete application with every required document. Only online applications are accepted, submitted through winnipeg.ca/hr. Incomplete applications are not processed and documents are not returned — so build a clean, complete package.
• Step 2 — Written Knowledge Assessment. Applicants who clear the pre-screen are invoiced a $125 administrative processing fee (GST included), covering test proctoring, drug-screening kits and licensing costs. You then sit the Fire General Knowledge Written Assessment and must successfully complete it to advance.
• Step 3 — Practical Assessment. An Aerial Ladder Confidence Climb and a Confined Space Confidence Maze, designed to test comfort at height and in enclosed spaces.
• Step 4 — Panel Interview. A structured, behaviour-based and situational interview scored on core and position-specific competencies.
• Step 5 — Candidate Physical Fitness Evaluation. Applicants who pass the interview are scheduled for the University of Manitoba CFFM Firefighter Pre-Entry Fitness Evaluation.
• Step 6 — Selection Committee / Eligibility List. Your full file goes to a Selection Committee, which decides placement on an eligibility list. That list stays active until exhausted, so a strong candidate may be held for a future recruit class without reapplying — though being listed is not an offer of employment.
• Step 7 — Reference Checks / Conditional Offer / Medical Assessment. Reference checks and a conditional offer trigger the document-heavy conditions of employment plus a medical examination through the City's Occupational Health Branch.

Budget realistically for the costs. Beyond the $125 processing fee, the University of Manitoba fitness evaluation is $345 + GST (the University's own occupational-testing page lists $360 + GST), plus a $50 late-registration surcharge if you book late, and background checks, driver's abstracts and medical documentation are at your own expense. All recruitment fees are non-refundable and non-transferable, even if you do not advance.

Fitness Standard

WFPS uses the Canadian Forces Fire Marshall's Firefighter Pre-Entry Fitness Evaluation (CFFM FPFE), delivered by the University of Manitoba's Physical Education department at the Active Living Centre. You are only scheduled for it after you clear the written assessment, the practical assessment and the panel interview, and the completion certificate is valid for six months. It is a genuine, maximal-effort test done in roughly 22 kg (50 lb) of firefighting PPE, and every component is scored pass or fail — you get one attempt, no exceptions.

The evaluation includes:

• Aerobic endurance — a progressive treadmill test; you must complete an 8-minute stage at 3.5 mph on a 10% grade.
• Charged hose advance — drag a charged 38 mm hose 45 m in less than 31 seconds.
• High-volume hose pull — hand-over-hand pull of a ~56 kg hose bundle, three times, in less than 103 seconds.
• Forcible entry simulation — drive a machine with a 3.6 kg sledgehammer in under 45 seconds.
• Victim drag — move a 68.2 kg mannequin over a 30 m course in under 49 seconds.
• Ladder climb — climb a 7.3 m ladder to the 10th rung and back, five times, in less than 109 seconds.
• Equipment carry / vehicle extrication — carry and manipulate extrication tools up to 36 kg in under 270 seconds.

Train for it the way you would train for the job: loaded carries, grip endurance, sled/rope pulls, sledgehammer work and treadmill inclines under a weighted vest. Show up well-rested and well-hydrated, and bring shorts, two short-sleeved shirts, sweatpants and running shoes as the University instructs.

The Interview

The Step 4 panel interview is structured, behaviour-based and situational — a deliberate design meant to measure how you will actually perform on the job rather than how smoothly you talk. Expect realistic work scenarios, each engineered to draw out a specific competency, alongside behavioural questions where you describe past experience with concrete examples. The panel scores your content, your communication, and your general demeanour and deportment against WFPS core values.

The strongest candidates prepare structured stories in advance — using a clear situation-task-action-result frame — that show teamwork, sound judgement under pressure, public-service motivation and integrity. Because Winnipeg is an integrated fire-paramedic service, be ready to speak credibly about both the fire and the medical sides of the role, and about why an integrated model appeals to you. If you want a structured way to build and rehearse those answers, our firefighter interview course walks through the competency framework and the STAR-style delivery that panels reward.

Winnipeg is a full-time platoon operation — a rotating eight-day tour of two 10-hour day shifts and two 14-hour night shifts (48 hours per tour) followed by four days off, which averages roughly 42 hours per week — with a defined pay progression from first-year firefighter through to first-class. The compensation is set through the collective agreement with the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg (IAFF Local 867); see the salary grid below for the verified figures.

Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service Firefighter Salary

2026 rates from the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg (IAFF Local 867) collective agreement. Winnipeg is a combined fire-paramedic service; pay progresses through several steps to first class.

Sources: www.winnipeg.ca

See how Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service pay compares across Canada — full firefighter salary breakdown by city →

Current & Recent Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service Postings

Recruitment history on our board: 2026 (1) · 2025 (2) · 2024 (1) · 2023 (1) · 2022 (2) · 2021 (1) — postings per year for this department.

Frequently Asked Questions

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