Miniota Fire Department

06/03/2026

It was a pleasure getting to know & work with John during our MFR/FFR campaign over the past few years. RIP brother.

It is with profound sadness that we announce the sudden passing of our Fire Chief John Sparham.

Our department is grieving the loss of a respected leader, mentor, and friend who dedicated himself to serving our community through both our volunteer fire department and the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service.

We extend our deepest condolences to Chief Sparham’s family, friends, crews, and colleagues during this difficult time. We ask that you keep them, and our department members, in your thoughts as we mourn this tremendous loss.

Chief Sparham’s service and dedication will not be forgotten.

Information regarding memorial and funeral arrangements will be shared as it becomes available and with the family’s consent.

05/17/2026

Now that the dust has settled, literally, I have a chance to sit & express our gratitude to all who came together during our two day fire. 34 years doing this & I’ve never found myself having to try & protect five different farmyard sites from going up in flames within minutes of each other from the same incident and then another fire is reported a few miles away to add to the mayhem. Because of the tremendous efforts of our members, Hamiota FD, Birtle FD, the “tillage people”, water tankers & well maintained yard sites, there wasn’t one structure lost. The wind & dust made efforts extremely difficult & yet so many FFs & others worked tirelessly to protect property & contain the rapid spread. Natural fire breaks like roads & any amount of water were no match for 80-90km wind driven flames fuelled by wheat stubble. Getting ahead of the advancing fire line with tillage equipment was the only way to stop it & all of the operators did an outstanding job. We have a lot of people to thank.
Hamiota & Birtle FDs.
Tillage: Bryce, Travis, Jamie E, Murray, Stuart, Greg.
Water tankers: Decker Colony, Murray S, Duncan M, Blair, Jamie B, Cowlings.
The thoughtful group of women who made a delicious supper for everyone & the delivery guys.
To all the others that reached out to help.
I know I’ve missed some people & I apologize. Thank you. It was very difficult to keep track of who all was there.
Hats off to everyone involved. It was a very intense situation & so many people stepped up to help.
I think just about every Fire Department across southern MB was fighting fire that day and same goes for MB hydro crews dealing with downed lines.
911 communication centre was overwhelmed but they did a tremendous job dispatching hundreds of FDs to multiple calls.
The response from multiple communities was humbling & we can’t express our appreciation enough. Thank you all!

05/14/2026

This is what we had to deal with today along with many other Fire Depts in our area.

05/14/2026

Due to the dry & wind conditions there will be a fire ban issued at midnight may 13. No outdoor burning including burn barrels. fire pits covered with screens are still allowed but must be supervised & extinguished before leaving. Also have an extinguisher on site.
Very high winds forecast for Thursday so please be on the lookout for fires & call 911 immediately.

05/11/2026

After another burning barrel fire today, this is a reminder that if you use a burning barrel, it has to be located on a non-combustible surface like gravel or concrete. Having it on grass is just an incident waiting to happen. Supervise it the entire time & make sure it’s extinguished before leaving. Have a fire extinguisher or water source available in case it gets away. Conditions are very dry at the moment so let’s be fire smart. Stay safe!

04/13/2026

Special thanks to Birtle FD, our EMO team, Prairie View Municipality, EMS & Twin Valley Coop that all contributed to a successful mock incident today.
It was a wonderful learning experience for all involved. This training is essential in order to be better prepared for what we may encounter someday.

04/06/2026

The town map shows the incident location in red & highlighted in yellow are the properties that will be in the shelter-in-place and/or evacuation zone. We went to these residents last Thursday to inform them they will likely get a knock on the door that morning. For those who weren’t home, we left some information in the door. If you have questions about our mock incident please reach out to us. We thank you in advance for your cooperation as we carry out this exercise in order to help us be better prepared in case something similar actually happens in real life.

03/27/2026

03/25/2026

Ten years ago we lost Mary Jean. You are not forgotten. You were a huge influence on the initiation of our Emergency Medical Response Service in 2000, in which we still provide to our citizens today. You were the glue of our agency with your wisdom & expertise. Things are changing but the foundation that you were such a big part of creating, remains. We miss you!