Attempt to thaw frozen pipes using heating torch starts house fire: Winnipeg firefighters
Posted November 17, 2025 12:05 pm.
Winnipeg firefighters believe a fire at a split-level house on Newcastle Road on Sunday night was started after a person attempted thaw frozen pipes using a heating torch.
The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service (WFPS) says crews were called to the home around 8:44 p.m. Firefighters arrived to find smoke coming from the house. The fire was declared under control at 9:08 p.m.
There were no injuries, as all occupants had evacuated the home.
The WFPS believes the fire was accidental based on “preliminary observation,” and officials are reminding people never to use a hot tool to thaw frozen pipes.
The fire on Newcastle Road was one of several keeping crews busy Sunday and Monday morning.
There was a blaze Sunday evening at an under-construction house on Garfield Street North. The WFPS ordered the “immediate demolition” of the remaining structure due to “significant structural instability.”
In the early hours of Monday morning, crews were called to a fire at a vacant, mixed-use commercial/industrial structure on Myrtle Street, and later to a vacant, two-and-a-half storey house on William Avenue.
There were no injuries reported in any of the fires.
