Canada Day got off to a busy start for Winnipeg firefighters, who responded to fires at two vacant homes within the first hour of the day.

At around 12 a.m. the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service was called to a one and a half storey home in the 200 block of Balmoral Street, where firefighters fought heavy smoke and flames inside the home to bring the fire under control.

The home had been vacant since another fire last year and no one was found inside the building.

The fire was declared extinguished at 12:48 a.m., the city said.

Second fire breaks out

Then at around 12:50 a.m. firefighters were called to a fire at a vacant bungalow in the 400 block of Victor Street.

It was well involved when they arrived, the city said, adding that “the volume of fire made it unsafe for crews” to go inside.

Firefighters attacked it from above using an aerial ladder truck and it was considered under control at 2:52 a.m.

No one was hurt in either fire and in each case the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

The city did not have damage estimates for either fire but said the bungalow on Victor Street is expected to be a total loss.