‘Extremely busy city when it comes to fires’: Winnipeg firefighters battle 6 blazes overnight

It was a very busy night for Winnipeg firefighters, who battled six blazes over a 10-hour period from Tuesday evening into Wednesday morning.

One person was hospitalized in the first fire. There were no injuries in the next five.

“In this case I guess the fortunate side is that they were somewhat spread out and they were mostly smaller issues, not large structure fires,” said Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service (WFPS) Deputy Chief Scott Wilkinson.

“But nonetheless, when they’re concurring and sequential, after that it limits the amount of breaks our teams can get and it puts a lot of stress on them as we have to stretch resources across the city.”

Wilkinson credits the hard work of his team in keeping people safe.

“This is an extremely busy city when it comes to fires and the firefighting and the volume that we have to encounter, and our crews rise to the occasion every day to manage that demand despite the impacts that it has on them as they work through their days,” he said.

Chiswell Cove

The WFPS was called to a fire at a single-family bi-level house on Chiswell Cove around 7:33 p.m. It was declared under control at 8:11 p.m.

All occupants left the home prior to firefighters arriving. One person was assessed by paramedics at the scene and then taken to hospital in stable condition.

Selkirk Avenue

A garage went up in flames next to a two-and-a-half storey, multi-family home on Selkirk Avenue around 8:16 p.m.

The fire was discovered by WFPS crew returning from another call.

Firefighters stopped the fire from spreading to the home. It was declared under control at 8:38 p.m.

Some occupants of the home evacuated on their own while others were evacuated by firefighters as a precaution.

Chandos Avenue

At 8:51 p.m., the WFPS responded to a fire in a three-storey apartment building on Chandos Avenue.

The fire was in the laundry room and was declared under control at 9:25 p.m. Once the fire was extinguished, evacuated residents were able to return to their suites.

Firefighters believe the fire was accidental and caused by a malfunctioning clothes dryer.

“Keeping those dryer vents clear, keeping combustibles away from heating appliances, careful smoking and disposable smoking materials because it still maintains being an issue, and using all the electrical appliances according to instructions and making sure they’re code approved,” said Wilkinson.

Colony Street

At 1:11 a.m. on Wednesday, the WFPS responded to a monitored alarm in a three-storey apartment building on Colony Street.

The fire was quickly brought under control once fire crews arrived on scene.

Occupants were temporarily evacuated but allowed to return once the fire was extinguished.

Tweed Avenue

At 4:05 a.m., a detached garage was fully engulfed in flames on Tweed Avenue.

The fire was declared under control at 4:26 a.m.

Washington Avenue

At 5:49 a.m., fire crews were called to a commercial building on Washington Avenue.

The small fire was extinguished and stopped from spreading.

All of the blazes, except for the Chandos Avenue laundry room fire, are under investigation. Wilkinson says not much information is available at this time on the causes of the fires.

–With files from Eddie Huband