Firefighters say they are facing increasing levels of violence on duty, and they’re asking the federal government to step up legislation.
In a survey of over 117 fire departments in Canada, 40 percent of firefighters have experienced an assault within the last five years, says Edward Kelly, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters. Kelly also said he believes incidents of violence are under-reported.
“We had a Toronto firefighter bitten by a patient,” Kelly said in an interview last month. “In Winnipeg, we’ve seen a severe rise; we’ve had 58 reported incidents in Winnipeg this year alone.”
The Canadian Press reached out to several firefighters unions across the country, as well as municipalities, to see if they kept their own statistics on reports of violence….