Winnipeg firefighter's death is call to action on struggles of first responders, co-workers say

Warning: This story contains discussion of suicide and could be triggering for some people.

Winnipeg firefighters are mourning the loss of their friend and colleague, who they say died by suicide earlier this month, and calling for better mental health supports for first responders.

They also want Preston Heinbigner's death to be designated as in the line of duty. 

"The line-of-duty death is used for firefighters that have given their life the ultimate sacrifice, usually in a fire or serving their community, and there's no doubt that Preston's death was attributed to what he saw on this job. This job is not easy. This job takes a lot out of us," Dalain Gagne, Heinbigner's friend for 20 years and a veteran firefighter, told CBC Manitoba Information Radio host Marcy Markusa.

"The line of duty death will assist Preston's family in getting some benefits that they require and honouring Preston's memory and his legacy."

Gagne also created a GoFundMe page "to assist his wife and children to ease financial pressures as they move through living their lives without him." The couple has a two-year-old son with another baby on the way.

Heinbigner, 40, died April 9 and a funeral will be held Friday.

He had been a Winnipeg firefighter since 2007 and became "a pillar" among his colleagues, said Ken Garon, who called himself fortunate to work alongside Heinbigner.

"He put everybody before himself. Whether it was your first day on the job or you were about to retire, Preston asked, 'how are you doing?' He took his time for everybody," said Garon, who called Heinbigner charismatic and highly intelligent.

WATCH | Firefighter friends talk about their fallen colleague:

"He made everything look easy. Work was easy, life was easy. He was the type of guy that if he was in the room, everyone was paying attention, everyone was drawn to him," Garon told Markusa.

"I've been here my whole life in Winnipeg and he moved here from Saskatchewan and has 10 times more friends than I do."

But underneath it all, Heinbigner was fighting demons.

Garon said they would have personal talks about the pain and PTSD Heinbigner struggled to keep at bay. On a daily basis, they attended calls where people were dealing with trauma, suicide and the drug epidemic.