Second-degree murder charges laid following Christmas Day apartment fire in Winnipeg

The Warwick Apartments are pictured on Dec. 26, 2022, one day after a fire displaced 42 residents. Police confirmed on Dec. 28 that two adults have died following the fire. (Image source: Mason DePatie/CTV News Winnipeg)

Winnipeg police have charged a man in connection with a Christmas Day apartment fire that killed two people.

Ethan Gage Shaydon Powderhorn, 26, has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder, four counts of arson with disregard for human life and one count of arson causing property damage.

The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service (WFPS) was called to the 300 block of Qu'Appelle Avenue just after 4 a.m. on Dec. 25 for reports of a fire in a six-storey apartment building.

A second alarm was called for the fire and crews learned there were people trapped in the building, as well as several residents who needed help getting out.

Six people were eventually taken to hospital, three in critical condition, one person in unstable condition and two in stable condition.

Two of those people later died from their injuries and they have been identified as 63-year-old Roger Glen Doblej and 70-year-old Suzanne Helen McCooeye.

Police said the other victims, three men and a woman, were all between the ages of 47 and 79.

Police allege Powderhorn set two fires in the building that night. The first occurred at around 12:19 a.m. which was quickly extinguished at WFPS using a bucket of water and a pump can.

Investigators also believe that Powderhorn set another fire back on Dec. 10 in the 300 block of Kennedy Street. The fire was inside a garbage bin and caused around $500 in damage.

Powderhorn is in custody and the charges against him have not been proven in court.

The homicide total for 2022 in Winnipeg has now climbed to 53 deaths.