Why Winnipeg firefighters are camping out on a rooftop
A group of firefighters is camping out in the cold over the next few days intending to raise money for an important cause.
From March 21 to 24, Winnipeg firefighters will be spending the night on the roof of the Osborne Village fire station for the Firefighter Rooftop Campout, which raises money for Muscular Dystrophy Canada.
This year’s campout marks the first time the event has returned since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s good to be back, get back to some normality…It’s been a long time in the works,” said Stephen Nixon, an executive with the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg (UFFW), on Wednesday.
Nixon said the fundraiser generates most of its money from firefighters and volunteers getting out on the streets and asking for donations.
Winnipeg firefighters have been supporting Muscular Dystrophy Canada for 68 years and have raised more than $1.1 million. The money has helped to fund research, advocacy, equipment, and support programs.
“You talk to people that have [muscular dystrophy], it’s very hard what they go through and the challenge they live with every day,” Nixon said.
“For what we do and the money we raise, it all stays in Manitoba and provides a better life for these people.”
Rhema Idonije, a firefighter who’s participating in the campout, said the fundraiser means a lot to those who have neuromuscular disorders.
“All these donations and the work that’s being done here today goes and impacts them directly and that’s what it’s all about,” he said.
Those who want to contribute can come down to the fire hall to donate.
- With files from CTV’s Joseph Bernacki.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Train derailed in Sarnia after colliding with a truck
Police are investigating after a transport truck collided with a train in Sarnia.
Fewer medical students going into family medicine contributing to doctor shortage
As some family doctors are retiring and others are moving away from family medicine, there are fewer medical students to take their place.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.