WFPS battles 10 fires, including 7 at vacant buildings within 24 hours

It’s been an extremely busy 24 hours for Winnipeg fire crews as they battled nine fires across the city — six of which were at vacant properties.

WFPS says all of the fires happened between 7:55 p.m. on May 11 and 11:15 a.m. on May 12.

“It was a huge stain on our system and on our people. We had seven fires. Most of which in the same general area. We had the same crews going to repeat fires and a number of fires simultaneously. It’s a huge demand on our crews both physically and emotionally,” said WFPS Deputy Chief Scott Wilkinson

Wilkinson said that vacant building fires pose dangerous conditions for firefighters to work under.

“Well, vacant buildings as a whole, I mean, they’re not starting themselves accidentally as we would see in an occupied building, so there’s definitely concern these are incendiary or possibly arson, and with being in the same area, we don’t know for sure if they’re related or with simmilar individuals, but its something we’re working closeliy with the police service one,” said Wilkinson.

The Point Douglas, Mynarski, and Daniel McIntyre Wards have been at the centre of recent fires.

Mynarski Ward city councillor Ross Eadie cited his concerns for the residents of the neighborhoods and said he wonders if the fires are connected to gang activity.

“Having so many fires, my first thought is, it’s arson,” said Eadie. “You can take care of the physical part. But who is actually setting the fire? How are the fires happening? It’s people. It’s people who are experiencing social ills, addictions, and so on.”

Lock Street fire

The first fire that WFPS responded to happened just before 8 p.m. on May 11, at a single-storey home along Lock Street near Smart Street.

When crews arrived at the scene, they could see smoke and flames coming from the home, and they began to attack the fire before declaring it under control at 8:30 p.m.

One person was evacuated from the home and taken to hospital in critical condition, and a cat was found dead inside.

While damage estimates are not available, WFPS believes that the house is a complete loss.

St. Johns Avenue

The second fire WFPS responded to happened around 12:27 a.m. on May 12, at a vacant one-and-a-half-storey house along St. Johns Avenue near McGregor Street.

When crews arrived at the scene, they could see smoke and flames coming from the home, and they began to attack the fire before declaring it under control at 12:54 a.m.

No one was found at the house and no injuries were reported.

Powers Street fire

Around seven minutes after responding to the fire on St. Johns Avenue, WFPS was also called to a vacant two-storey house along Powers Street near Manitoba Avenue.

When crews arrived at the scene, they could see smoke and flames coming from the home and an adjacent garage, and they began to attack the fire before declaring it under control at 1:07 a.m.

No one was found at the house and no injuries were reported.

WFPS notes that the home had been previously damaged by several fires, including fires in May 2025 and September 2023.

Boyd Avenue fire

Around 12 minutes after responding to the fire on Powers Street, WFPS was called to a vacant one-and-a-half-storey house along Boyd Avenue near McGregor Street.

When crews arrived at the scene, they could see smoke and flames coming from the home and an adjacent garage, and they began to attack the fire before declaring it under control at 1:15 a.m.

No one was found at the house and no injuries were reported.

WFPS notes that the home had been previously damaged by a fire in November 2025.

Manitoba Avenue fire

Around 1:08 a.m. WFPS was called to a vacant one-and-a-half storey house along Manitoba Avenue near Arlington Street.

When crews arrived at the scene, they could see smoke and flames coming from the home, and they began to attack the fire before declaring it under control at 1:41 a.m.

No one was found at the house and no injuries were reported.

Alexander Avenue fires

Around 1:51 a.m. WFPS was called to a vacant property along Alexander Avenue near Cecil Street.

When crews arrived at the scene, they were able to quickly extinguish a fire in a detached garage.

Around 3:23 a.m., WFPS responded to the same home and were able to quickly extinguish a second fire.

No injuries were reported in either fire.

Hargrave Street fire

Around 8:42 a.m. on May 12, WFPS was called to a high-rise apartment building along Hargrave Street near Portage Avenue.

When crews arrived at the scene, they could see smoke and flames coming from the balcony of an upper floor, and they began to attack the fire and quickly brought it under control before it could reach the building.

No injuries were reported, and through initial stages of an investigation, it is believed that the fire was started by the careless disposal of smoking materials.

Nassau Street South fire

The next fire WFPS responded to was around 11:15 a.m. at a two-storey townhouse along Nassau Street South near Arnold Avenue.

When crews arrived at the scene, they could see smoke and flames coming from the home, and they began to attack the fire before declaring it under control at 11:36 a.m.

No injuries were reported.

Sutherland Avenue fire

The final fire WFPS responded to was around 4:19 p.m. at a vacant multi-storey industrial building along Sutherland Avenue between Maple Street North and Argyle Street North.

When crews arrived at the scene, they could see coming from the roof of the remaining intact portion of the building, and they began to attack the fire before declaring it under control at 5:10 p.m.

It is believed that the fire was accidental and is thought to have been caused by hot work being conducted by contractors on the roof.

WFPS says that all workers safely self-evacuated before crews arrived on scene and no injuries were reported.

WFPS says investigations into all the fires are underway.

-With files from Koby Mitchell