The recent deep freeze has put safety top of mind for those working to keep Winnipeg’s most vulnerable safe.
Temperatures in Winnipeg neared a record low Wednesday as the mercury dipped down to -33 C. The record low of -33.5 was set in 2003.
“The biggest risk with this weather is frostbite,” said Gordon Giesbrecht, a University of Manitoba professor whose research areas include cold exposure and hypothermia.
“Once the real or wind chill temperature goes below -40 C, you’re at risk of frostbite within ten minutes. And when it gets colder, it could be five or two minutes. So you have to be very careful.”
Mitch Bourbonniere, an outreach worker with the Downtown Community Safety Partnership, says their outreach team has been keeping busy reaching out to those who don’t have a warm place to call home during the cold snap.
“It is extremely cold right now, the whole winter has been pretty much extremely cold,” Bourbonniere said, adding that their team is on-patrol 24-7.
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“So anybody we see out there at any hour that may seem vulnerable, we’re stopping and checking on them and we’re making plans with them. With the extreme cold, we really urge people to find a warm space, even if it’s getting on a bus or finding one of the warming spaces created this winter.”
Amid bitterly cold temperatures, the Winnipeg Police Service says their officers responded to a call at a bus shelter on Portage Avenue and Edmonton Street around 5 a.m. Tuesday, where they found a man dead. The cause of death has yet to be determined but police say it is not suspicious in nature.
Manitoba RCMP also say officers found a woman dead outside a home in The Pas Monday morning. That death is also not considered suspicious, but officers did note that while the victim was wearing winter clothing, she was not dressed for the extreme temperatures.
While the cause of the recent death at the Portage Avenue bus shelter has not been determined, Bourbonniere says it’s one of a few tragedies they’ve dealt with this winter, and it puts safety for the city’s vulnerable top of mind.
“That is the second death this winter in one of the bus shelters and the third death that we know about that has been outdoors in the inner city of Winnipeg this year,” he said.
“I can’t confirm that any of the three deaths that have occurred this winter are from exposure, that’s still being determined, but it’s also possible that these are overdose or natural causes.”
Bourbonniere is urging anyone who is at risk to reach out for help, and for the public to call 211 if they see someone in the extreme cold who may be vulnerable.
“Please find one of the resources, reach out to somebody. Don’t be out there on your own. Please get the help.”