Winnipeg crews fight five fires in 14 hours: WFPS

Winnipeg Fire Crews

The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service (WFPS) has had a very busy 24 hours, fighting five residential fires overnight and into the morning.

The first blaze in the William Whyte area started around 5:46 p.m. Sunday, when fire crews arrived at a single-storey home in the 300 block of Alfred Avenue.

Firefighters saw heavy black smoke and flames coming from the house. Crews attacked the fire from the inside, and brought the fire under control in just a few minutes.

No one was inside at the time of the fire, and no one was injured.

At 8:22 p.m., WFPS responded to another fire just a few blocks away, at a two-and-a-half storey home in the 400 block of Pritchard Avenue.

Again, crews found smoke and flames coming from the house. This one took a little longer to put out, but the fire was deemed under control by 8:39 p.m.

Everyone got out of the house safely, and no one was injured.

The next morning, at 5:22 a.m. Monday, firefighters were at a four-storey apartment building in the 400 block of Qu’Appelle Avenue in downtown Winnipeg.

At the scene, crews saw smoke and flames coming from the building. Crews attacked the fire from the inside the apartment, and the flames were out by 5:51 a.m.

Everyone who was inside got out safely. The City of Winnipeg’s Emergency Social Services team is helping displaced residents find alternate housing until it is safe to return home.

Around that same time - at 5:37 a.m. - fire crews were back on Pritchard Avenue. A vacant house had gone up in flames in the 200 block.

At the scene, crews encountered very heavy smoke and large flames coming from the house. Firefighters attacked the fire from the outside until it was safe to work from the inside. The fire was out in about an hour.

Residents in two neighbouring homes were evacuated as a precaution. No one was injured.

Finally, at 7:56 a.m. Monday, fire crews responded to a two-storey townhouse in the 200 block of Gordon Avenue in Elmwood.

Just smoke was coming from the home. Firefighters attacked the fire from the inside, and it was under control by 8:21 a.m.

All residents were evacuated safely. The Emergency Social Services team were also on scene.

All fires are under investigation by WFPS. No damage estimates are available.