A Winnipeg firefighter is under investigation by his department for allegedly having sex with a female visitor to the firehall.

Firefighters reported they found one of their colleagues in a tiny shed beside Winnipeg's Osborne Street fire station and that he was engaged in inappropriate behaviour with a drunk woman. The incident is alleged to have happened four weeks ago while the firefighter was on the job.

"The members of the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg are deeply saddened and disappointed by the alleged actions of one firefighter," the union said Friday. "No alarms were missed or delayed and the other firefighters who were stationed at the fire hall were not involved in any way whatsoever. The officers reported the incident immediately."

The union said in a statement that such incidents "are extremely rare and isolated and should in no way affect the respect that the citizens of Winnipeg have for their firefighters."

The Osborne Street fire station was in the news in 2004 when firefighters were accused of improper behaviour with several young women. After an investigation, three firefighters were demoted; two were later re-instated.

The allegations in that incident involved women visiting the fire station after leaving a nearby bar.