Fire fight on McGillivray Boulevard expected to last until Thursday morning

Emergency crews respond to a fire on McGillivray Boulevard in Winnipeg on June 30, 2021. (Source: Gary Robson/ CTV News Winnipeg)

WINNIPEG -

Emergency crews are expected to be dealing with a large fire at a business complex along McGillivray Boulevard well into Thursday morning after it broke out Wednesday afternoon.

The fire broke out at Pool Pros, with employees saying it started at approximately 1:30 p.m.

"It looks like the fire started in the back compound,” said Nick Bouche, an employee at the store. “Everybody got out safe but unfortunately the fire spread throughout the building."

Mike Siemens, the fire chief for the RM of Macdonald, said the blaze eventually spread in the complex and every business was affected by the fire.

Bouche said there was a lot of flammable material inside the business.

"I know the whole compound has a lot of wood,” he said. “The biggest worry is that inside, it's all chemicals because we're a pool company."

Siemens said natural gas burned in the fire, making it particularly difficult to fight.

Black smoke could be seen in the air as firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze.

Siemens added several departments were called to the area, including crews from Headingley and Winnipeg, and there were multiple crews on scene.

He said the cause of the fire is still unknown.

McGillivray was closed in both directions and Winnipeg police asked people to avoid the area and use another route.

Bouche said all the employees were able to get out of the building safely.

CTV News will continue to update the story as details become available.

- With files from CTV’s Kayla Rosen and Devon McKendrick