Winnipeg man recalls notifying neighbours, family to growing house fire

Running across the street barefoot, in nothing but his pants, Kelly Brown had one thing on his mind after seeing flames bursting through the roofs of two houses across the street: get his loved ones and his neighbours to safety.

“I was actually sleeping on the couch. I came home from work from Ontario, so I was really tired. And my partner had actually come running because she could hear sirens and everything that was coming up. And she ran, woke me up, and opened the door; and that’s when we noticed the flames,” explained Brown.

The two-alarm fire, taking place at a pair of empty duplexes in the 500 block of Manitoba Avenue, forced the demolition of the two structures, leaving behind nothing more than a pile of rubble.

Kelly Brown says he’s glad he was there to notify his family and neighbours of the encroaching blaze, saying the bad situation could have been worse.

“We saw that it was growing, jumping from house to house,” he explained. “I was knocking at the door. I started kicking because I was getting no response. Until they came, they opened the curtain and I yelled ‘There’s a fire next door, get out!’”

Brown, whose grandchildren live in a neighbouring house, says he then went inside and helped move those in close proximity to the fire across the street to safety, and helped ensure others who had already been evacuated were clear from the blaze, which Winnipeg Fire and Paramedic Service, resulted in a total loss.

Brown says if no one answered the door as the fire burned – it was almost 2:30 a.m. in the morning – he was ready to do whatever it took to get people to safety.

Kelly Brown saved family and neighbours from house fire. (Photo Credit: Morgan Modjeski, CityNews)

“What was going through my head if no one is going to answer, then I’m going to kick the door in to get these children and this family out.”

In a statement, Scott Wilkinson the WFPS Assistant Chief of Community Risk Reduction says in ideal situations, all homes would have working smoke detectors to alert people to a fire, saying if you hear an alarm sounding, get out of the building and call 911. 

This also holds true if you have a smoke alarm, but it does not seem to be working and smoke is present. You should leave the building and call 911 and yell back to others they should leave as well, helping children and those with mobility issues leave if it’s safe to do so. 

And if you see a fire in a building, Wilkinson says you should call 911 immediately. 

“Tell the 9-1-1 Call Taker that you think there may be people who need to be evacuated,” he said in the statement. “This will ensure firefighters have the best information when they arrive on scene.” 

He also says if it’s safe to do so, you can consider alerting residents without entering the building, either by phone, knocking on outside doors, or by shouting. 

“In nearly all cases, WFPS crews will be on scene within minutes and firefighters will immediately begin attacking the fire, searching for people (if needed),” Wilkinson said. 

Wilkinson stressed this is why it’s good to have a common meeting place, to determine if everyone got out safely.

Firefighters will also assess whether or not to evacuate nearby homes, saying a well-thought – and most importantly practiced – home escape plan will ensure any needed evacuations go smoothly and safely.

This isn’t actually the first time Brown has helped people out of danger due to a fire, as he was awarded the Royal Canadian Humane Association’s Medal of Bravery after he helped several people escape a fire on Furby Street in 2020. And he says he’s still processing the most recent incident.

“I’m still kind of lost for feelings and whatnot. Like I said, this is the second time, and this time, it was more hitting home, because it was my grandkids and a second family, and in the middle of where no one had warning about what was going on. And to see how badly those two buildings were engulfed and how intense it was. It was quite alarming.”