Fire at vacant North End home, as mayor vows to crack down on building owners

Winnipeg fire crews were needed to put out a fire at a vacant home in the city’s North End early Saturday morning, as the city continues to deal with the issue of unoccupied residences.

The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service was called to the home on Stella Avenue near Aikins Street shortly before 4 a.m.

Firefighters arrived to find smoke coming from the building. The fire was under control by 4:24 a.m., WFPS said.

They are investigating the cause of the blaze. There were no injuries.

Vacant house fires have been a problem in Winnipeg for several years now. Mayor Scott Gillingham says his office is looking into the process of seizing those buildings from the property owners without compensating them.

“We are at the place where some property owners are just chronically delinquent,” Gillingham said earlier this week. “They are not taking care of their property, they have several citations against them, several bylaw orders against them and yet to no effect.”

The blaze on Stella Avenue was the second fire in Winnipeg in a roughly 10-hour span.

Around 5:45 p.m. on Friday, crews were called to a fire at a house on Home Street near Sargent Avenue. That fire was declared under control around 6:08 p.m.

Residents of the home made it outside safely before crews arrived. Paramedics treated one person at the scene; they did not need to be taken to hospital.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.