Winnipeg crews fight four fires in less than 24 hours

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Winnipeg fire crews have had a busy 24 hours, responding to four blazes across the city, three within a few hours of each other.

The first fire started around 1:11 p.m. Friday in the 500 block of Selkirk Avenue. Firefighters arrived to find smoke and flames pouring from the single-storey building. Fire crews attacked the flames from the inside of the building, and the fire was deemed under control at 1:26 p.m.

The Winnipeg Fire paramedic Service (WFPS) says no one was inside at the time of the fire, and that the cause is under investigation.

Then, at 2:17 p.m., WFPS responded to a two-storey home in the 400 block of Stella Avenue.

Again, crews found smoke and flames coming from the house. Firefighters attacked from the inside, using a Flameguard X-Tinguish Fire Suppression Tool. The flames were out by 2:49 p.m.

No one was inside, and there were no injuries. Students at a nearby school temporarily stayed inside out of concern for air quality as a result of smoke.

Firefighters were out again at 3:58 p.m., this time arriving at a one-storey commercial building in the 0-100 block of Robinson Street.

That fire was put out quickly, declared under control at 4:22 p.m. No one was injured in the blaze.

Finally, on Saturday morning at 6:18 a.m. fire crews rushed to a three-storey apartment building in the 300 block of Hamilton Avenue.

Firefighters found the fire to be mostly extinguished when they arrived, but there was still smoke in the hallways. Crews checked to make sure the fire had not spread. Paramedics treated five people and took them to a hospital in stable condition.

The City of Winnipeg’s Emergency Social Services team is helping residents of the damaged suite to find alternate housing until they can return. All other occupants of the building were able to return to their suites.