1 dead, 5 injured in separate downtown fires just blocks apart

One person was killed and five others were injured, including one in critical condition, following two separate fires just a few blocks apart in downtown Winnipeg Saturday morning.

A fire at a home on Furby Street near Sargent Avenue claimed a man’s life, Winnipeg police said. The man, who was taken to hospital in critical condition, succumbed to his injuries there.

The WPS says the homicide unit is investigating, and an autopsy is pending.

Two other individuals were injured in the blaze that brought WFPS crews to the home around 5:10 a.m. They were taken to hospital in stable condition.

“It was about 5 a.m. this morning, my husband heard screaming ‘jump jump jump,'” said neighbour Alaina Eveleigh. “About 25 (minutes) after 5 a.m. he wakes me up and tells me the house is on fire across the street.

“Just black smoke and the ambulance, emergency team taking people out, and it was just awful.”

The fire was declared under control before 6:30 a.m., with the home sustaining significant damage.

Fatal house fire on Furby Street June 17, 2023. (Temi Olatunde/CityNews)

Kennedy Street fire: 3 hospitalized, 18 displaced

Earlier Saturday morning, around 4:40 a.m., crews were called to an apartment building fire on Kennedy Street near Sargent Avenue.

Four people needed to be saved using ladders, the WFPS said. Three of them were hospitalized – one in critical condition and two in stable condition.

“My mum went outside, checked outside and she saw that there was smoke, so she told us to get outside. The fourth-floor smoke was coming out of there,” Faisal Benedito, who lives in the apartment building.

“There was fire department from here down to Ellice as far as I can see that way, and that way. Every which way,” added Debbie Bohmke.

The fire was declared under control around 5:30 a.m.

Eighteen residents were displaced, the WFPS said, with the City of Winnipeg’s emergency social services team working to find them temporary living accommodations.

“Somebody told me they had taken a younger person away and said they weren’t breathing when they left in the ambulance,” said Bohmke.

Neighbours of the unit that was on fire say they saw a distressed mother watching her children being rescued from the fire.

“She was crying here and her kids were getting pulled out of apartment and stuff, by the firefighters,” said Benedito.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the major crimes unit. The building sustained significant smoke, fire and water damage.

Aftermath of a fire at an apartment building on Kennedy Street June 17, 2023. (Temi Olantunde/CityNews)