How to Become a Firefighter in Winnipeg: WFPS Recruitment Requirements (2026)

To become a firefighter with the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service (WFPS), you apply during an open recruitment with your fire training and a medical credential already completed, then pass seven selection steps, including a fitness test you get one attempt at. WFPS runs fire and emergency medical response as one integrated service and hires pre-certified candidates: your documents must be attached on the day you apply, and an application missing a required document is not considered.

This guide follows the January 2025 Firefighter and Firefighter Paramedic Application Manual linked from the WFPS careers and recruitment page, its two checklists, the University of Manitoba's testing page and the City's careers system, all read in October 2026.

What are the requirements to become a firefighter in Winnipeg?

You must be 18 to apply, and WFPS sets no maximum age. Both streams attach a resume showing how they meet the qualifications, an IFSAC or Pro Board accredited NFPA 1001 Level I and II program, and a current BLS or CPR C certificate, plus a medical credential that depends on the stream. Your licence, police checks and medical standards come later, at the conditional offer.

At application	Firefighter	Firefighter Paramedic (PCP)
Medical credential	Advanced or Industrial First Aid from an 80 to 120 hour program, or an EMR program	A PCP program certificate accredited by the CMA (before February 2018) or Accreditation Canada (after), plus a College of Paramedics of Manitoba PCP licence
NFPA 1001 Level I and II	IFSAC or Pro Board accredited; copy of certificate and transcript of marks	Same
CPR	Current BLS or CPR C	Same
Commitment after hire	None stated	Keep PCP status for 12 years under the UFFW collective agreement

Note three details. The qualifications list accepts BLS or CPR C, but the How to Apply list names a Heart and Stroke BLS certificate, so a Heart and Stroke BLS course satisfies both. A PCP licence from another province is accepted, but it must be transferred to Manitoba before you start. And education completed outside Canada needs an official academic assessment report from a recognized Canadian assessment service, attached at application.

Should you apply as a firefighter or a firefighter paramedic?

Apply to the stream your medical credential supports. The two share every fire requirement and every selection step, so the only question is whether you hold a PCP certificate and licence or an 80 to 120 hour first aid or EMR certificate. The firefighter paramedic stream adds a 12-year commitment to keeping PCP status.

WFPS also hires primary care paramedics and communications operators, each with its own checklist and manual. Those are separate jobs, and this guide covers only the two firefighter streams.

Beyond the minimums, WFPS prefers six IFSAC or Pro Board accredited certificates: NFPA 1002 driver/operator, NFPA 1006 surface water rescue technician, NFPA 1035 fire and life safety educator, NFPA 1031 fire inspector, rescue practices and vehicle extrication. Post-secondary fire or EMS study, practical fire rescue or paramedicine experience and a second or additional language are assets. Volunteer experience is not required.

What are the steps in the WFPS hiring process?

There are seven, in this order: application and pre-screening, a written knowledge assessment, a practical assessment, a panel interview, the University of Manitoba fitness evaluation, a selection committee, and reference checks with a conditional offer and medical. Fail any step and you are out of that recruitment, told in writing whether you may reapply, and back to Step 1 next time.

1. Application and pre-screening: online only, with every Section A document attached.
2. Written knowledge assessment: a $125 administrative processing fee, GST included, is invoiced after the assessments.
3. Practical assessment: an aerial ladder climb and a confined space confidence maze.
4. Panel interview.
5. Candidate physical fitness evaluation at the University of Manitoba, one attempt only.
6. Selection committee and eligibility list.
7. Reference checks, conditional offer of employment and medical assessment.

All fees in the process are non-refundable, including if you withdraw.

What is on the WFPS written test?

It is a fire knowledge exam rather than an aptitude test. The manual calls it the Fire General Knowledge Written Assessment, based on Fundamentals of Fire Fighter Skills, with questions compatible with the Jones and Bartlett 3rd and 4th editions and the Canadian 3rd edition. You get two hours.

Unlike FireTEAM or the OFAI FACT, it tests what you learned in fire school, so your own course textbook is the first study source. The manual closes with a ten-question sample quiz and answer key, touching company types, SCBA standards, rope construction, overhaul and salvage. Bring photo identification; phones, calculators and smart watches are not allowed, and a late arrival after the assessment begins is disqualified.

For extra repetition, Semparo's Fire Knowledge bank holds 650 original questions across eight topic areas aligned to NFPA 1001 Firefighter I and II, from fire behaviour and building construction to hazmat basics and fixed systems. It is not built from either textbook WFPS names, so use it alongside your course text rather than instead of it.

What happens at the WFPS practical assessment?

It is two confidence tests in turnout gear, which WFPS supplies or you may bring: an aerial ladder climb completed within nine minutes and a confined space maze within ten. WFPS says the point is to confirm you are comfortable with heights, ladders and a blacked-out facepiece, and that you are not claustrophobic.

On the climb, the 100-foot aerial is fully extended at 75 degrees; you climb into the basket, exit and climb down without stopping for more than five seconds. In the maze, you add SCBA, a harness and a blacked-out facepiece, go on air, and crawl through confined areas, level changes and cross beams, identifying a hose coupling to confirm your direction.

How does the WFPS panel interview work?

It mixes situational and behaviour-based questions. You work through realistic job scenarios, each built to draw out one key competency, then describe specific examples from your own experience. The panel also assesses your communication, demeanour and deportment.

When the interview is booked, WFPS emails what to bring: a reference check consent form, at least three recent employment references who were people you reported to directly, and any Section A documents still outstanding. Turnarounds can be fast, so out-of-town candidates should be ready to travel to Winnipeg on short notice.

What is the University of Manitoba firefighter fitness test?

It is the Canadian Forces Fire Marshal's Firefighter Pre-Entry Fitness Evaluation (CFFM FPFE), run by the University of Manitoba's occupational testing service: a loaded treadmill walk, then six timed job tasks in firefighting gear. WFPS schedules it only for candidates who pass the panel interview, it is pass or fail, and you get one attempt, with no exceptions.

The standards on the University of Manitoba's occupational testing page, as read in October 2026, in the page's order:

Event	What you do	Standard
Treadmill	5-minute warm-up, then 8 minutes at 3.5 mph on a 10 percent grade, in gear with runners	Complete the warm-up and the 8 minutes
Equipment carry and vehicle extrication	Carry 23 kg and 36 kg extrication tools, and hold the smaller tool in three positions for 30 seconds each	225 seconds or less
Charged hose advance	Advance a charged 44 mm hose 30 metres at a walk	27 seconds or less
Bundle pull	Pull a 56 kg hose bundle 15 metres, three times, feet planted	110 seconds or less
Forcible entry	Drive a forcible entry machine with a 4.0 kg dead-blow sledgehammer	19 seconds or less
Victim rescue	Drag an 84 kg mannequin backwards 15 metres around obstacles, round a cone and back to the start	57 seconds or less
Ladder climb	Climb a 7.2 metre ladder to the tenth rung and back, five times	97 seconds or less

A 60-minute rest follows the treadmill, then a mandatory walk-through of about 30 minutes, and each task is followed by three minutes of walking recovery in gear. The January 2025 WFPS manual prints an older version of these stations with other weights, distances and times; the University runs the test, so train to its figures and confirm them when you are invited.

As of October 2026 the University lists the fee at $360 plus GST, wants the PAR-Q and a physician's release emailed at least four days before your test, and makes fees non-refundable for changes within four business days. Bring your own plain, unlined leather work gloves, and note that extended orientations may be offered before a recruitment.

The treadmill is walked, not run, so build loaded incline walking alongside grip, pulling and drag strength. Semparo's FPFE training plan spends 12 weeks on loaded incline walks, arm's-length tool holds, rope pulls and heavy drags, and free readers can open its overview of the test. Covering both takes two sections, Aptitude for the Fire Knowledge bank and Fitness for the FPFE plan, or Pro, which includes them together; compare the section prices with Pro before choosing.

What happens after the fitness test?

A selection committee reviews every file and decides who goes on the eligibility list, which stays active for up to 12 months; while you are on it, you do not reapply or retest. A place on the list is not a job offer.

When WFPS considers you for an offer, it checks references, makes a conditional offer, and has the City's Occupational Health Branch run a medical examination that includes testing for illegal drug use. The offer-stage documents come from the Section B checklist and the manual's conditions of employment. Send them only when Human Resources asks, and expect to pay for them: WFPS puts every cost of the competition on the applicant.

Offer-stage document	How recent it must be
Police information check with vulnerable sector check	Within 30 days before your start date
Manitoba Child Abuse Registry and Adult Abuse Registry checks	Within 30 days before your start date
Driver's abstract and MPI Driver Safety Rating statement (no lower than minus 4)	Within 30 days before your start date
Manitoba Class 4 licence with air brake endorsement (Class 3 an asset), no alcohol-related charges or convictions	Held and maintained; out-of-province licences transferred before recruit training
Vision report on the City form, hearing test, and immunization record on the City form	Within 12 months before your start date
Chest X-ray	Within 5 years before your start date
University of Manitoba fitness certificate (from the manual, not the checklist)	Within 6 months before your start date

The vision standard includes 20/30 with both eyes open, which is the Class 4 emergency driving standard. Hearing must be no worse than 30 decibels unaided in each ear at 500, 1000 and 2000 Hz. WFPS treats firefighters as health care workers for immunizations, including two-step Mantoux testing and an influenza vaccine, and the manual encourages a full physical with your own doctor before you apply. One timing question it leaves open: the fitness certificate must be dated within six months of your start, while the list runs up to 12 months, so ask WFPS Recruitment how that applies if you are listed.

Is Winnipeg hiring firefighters right now?

Not as of October 4, 2026. That day the City of Winnipeg's careers system listed 35 open postings, none a firefighter or firefighter paramedic competition; WFPS's own two were a pay and benefits clerk job and a Primary Care Paramedic eligibility list. WFPS accepts applications only during an open recruitment.

The manual describes a saved search in a City careers account that emails you when a matching job is posted. Set one up before the next recruitment opens. Semparo's Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service page keeps the recruitment status and its official sources together; follow WFPS there while signed in and we email you once an open window is verified.

What are the avoidable mistakes on a WFPS application?

Five mistakes follow from the manual's own rules, and each one can end your candidacy. Most involve paperwork and timing, which you can plan for well before a recruitment opens.

• An incomplete application. It is not processed, and you cannot edit it after submitting; you would have to reapply.
• The wrong NFPA 1001 paperwork. The program must be IFSAC or Pro Board accredited, and WFPS wants the transcript of marks as well as the certificate.
• Section B documents sent early. Checks dated more than 30 days before your start will not count.
• Treating the FPFE as a practice run. With one attempt, a failure means starting over in a later recruitment.
• Reapplying with nothing new. WFPS can disqualify a returning applicant whose resume shows no added training, education or experience, so spell it out in your cover letter and resume.