WINNIPEG (CP) -- A city councillor says it might be necessary to have a public investigation into allegations of ``frat house'' behaviour at Winnipeg fire stations.
``I'm not ruling anything out,'' said Coun. Jenny Gerbasi, head of city hall's protection committee. ``But we're in the middle of an investigation. Let's see what it shows first.''
The Winnipeg Sun said it had obtained a five-page memo issued March 23 by the city's human resources office which listed disturbing acts committed by firefighters.
The list included spraying an extinguisher into an ambulance cab, destroying staff lunches ``by smearing them with obnoxious substances'' or throwing the food into the trash.
The memo to the Winnipeg Fire-Paramedic Service listed as unacceptable the presence of pornographic material at fire halls and supervisors attempting to coerce staff into paying into a fund for buying food, stereos and other amenities.
The memo also said employees have been intimidated to prevent them from filing complaints about such treatment, and that supervisors have failed to report complaints to upper management.
``They said they were going to fix this, that there is zero tolerance,'' said Len Pleskacz, president of the city's paramedic union. ``They were supposed to make sure these things didn't happen again. It's happening again. When is it going to stop?''
Earlier this week, six unidentified women paramedics said sexual harassment and verbal abuse make the workplace more stressful than their actual jobs.
As well, a union newsletter came under fire for publishing articles peppered with sexual innuendo, and 10 employees of one fire hall were suspended after allegations they entertained four women one night in July and drove them home in a fire truck.
It was also revealed that more than a year ago, schoolchildren touring a Winnipeg fire hall and expecting to see a fire safety video instead got a peek at a few seconds of a Playboy video by mistake.
Alex Forrest, president of the firefighters' union, has defended the actions of his members.
On Thursday, he said the ongoing uproar between his members and paramedics proves the city must abandon its seven-year effort to merge the services.
``Firefighters are leaders of the community,'' he said. ``They coach your sons' and daughters' hockey teams.''
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