Winnipeg fire crews respond to four fires in 12 hours

Firefighters are pictured on March 14, 2023 battling an early morning fire in the 500 block of Spence Street in Winnipeg. (Source: Joseph Bernacki/CTV News Winnipeg)

Winnipeg emergency crews were kept busy Monday, responding to a string of fires throughout the night and into the early morning hours Tuesday.

The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service (WFPS) said the first report came in at around 7:20 p.m. Crews responded to a fire in a two-storey home in the 200 block of Powers Street.

Firefighters attacked the flames from the outside using an aerial ladder because it was unsafe to go inside.

Two neighbouring homes were evacuated as a precaution.

The fire was declared under control at around 9:15 p.m.

No injuries were reported, and the cause is under investigation.

Meantime, another fire was reported at 8:12 p.m. at a three-storey apartment building in the first 100 block of Morrow Avenue.

Crews put out the fire, and Winnipeg Transit buses were brought in to give shelter to residents who were evacuated.

Paramedics assessed one patient on scene, who was not taken to hospital.

According to the city, preliminary observations suggest the fire was accidental and related to cooking.

Moments after the call came in about Morrow Avenue, another fire was reported at a residential property in the 600 block of Pritchard Avenue.

Everyone safely self-evacuated before crews arrived, and no injuries were reported.

Firefighters attacked the flames from the inside, and it was brought under control at 8:25 p.m.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Firetrucks are shown on March 14, 2023 lined up outside a vacant home on Spence Street. (Source: Joseph Bernacki/CTV News Winnipeg)

The last in the string of fires was reported at 6:38 a.m. on Tuesday at a vacant home in the 500 block of Spence Street.

When crews arrived on scene, they saw smoke coming from the building. Firefighters extinguished the fire from inside, but were eventually forced outside because of deteriorating conditions.

They then doused the flames using an aerial ladder.

WFPS ordered an emergency demolition of the building due to its structural instability and to allow firefighters to access the remaining small areas of the fire within the structure. They also worked to protect neighbouring homes from fire and heat damage.