Fire that tore through 3 Winnipeg businesses ‘mostly extinguished’

Behind red fire tape stood what remained of three Winnipeg businesses on Sunday afternoon, nearly 36 hours after a blaze tore through the building on Main Street.

BACKGROUND: ‘Total loss’: 3 Winnipeg businesses destroyed in large fire on Main Street

The blue “liquidation” sign that once hung above Surplus Direct was blackened by flames. A sign for Lord Selkirk Furniture was among the rubble.

Those businesses, along with Top Pro Roofing, were considered a total loss.

The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service worked through the night and into the morning to extinguish the fire that began Saturday around 2 a.m. on Main Street near Jarvis Avenue.

The WFPS says the fire was “mostly extinguished” by Sunday around noon. Fire crews were expected to remain on the scene to put out remaining small areas of fire.

Aftermath of fire on Winnipeg’s Main Street on Feb. 12, 2023. (Credit: CityNews/Morgan Modjeski)

Evacuated residents from an apartment building on Jarvis Avenue had still not returned to their homes after the building sustained “significant smoke and water damage.”

“Residents of that building will be able to return once the building is safe,” WFPS said in an update.

Evacuated residents from homes on Austin Street North were able to return to their homes.

The fire is believed to have begun at Surplus Direct and spread to the adjacent buildings.

“It’s disappointing to see this kind of damage to these buildings,” Scott Wilkinson, assistant chief with the WFPS, said on Saturday. “Our crews did everything they could to try and prevent that, but it’s been a very challenging night.”

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The WFPS says it needed “an emergency demolition to help firefighters access flames in the building.”

Main Street reopened to southbound traffic Sunday, but northbound traffic will continue to be impacted while crews are on the scene.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.