1 person hospitalized from 2-storey fire off Main Street in Point Douglas
CBC
Drifting smoke fills the air as Winnipeg firefighters continue to battle a fire involving a two-storey apartment building in the Point Douglas neighbourhood.
Nearly two dozen emergency vehicles responded to fire just after 7:15 a.m. on Saturday off Main Street, between Sutherland and Jarvis avenues, that blocked off traffic in both directions between Higgins and Dufferin avenues.
The major incident response vehicle was also present to assist residents of the building that evacuated on their own, according to a news release from the city of Winnipeg.
The building is expected to be a total loss.
Emergency crews are using two aerial ladders in an attempt to extinguish the fire, which sent one person to hospital in stable condition.
The adjacent high-rise apartment building was also evacuated for precautionary concerns.
Winnipeg Transit has sent buses to shelter evacuees, and the city's emergency social services team will help displaced residents find temporary accommodations.
Fire crews are expected to be in the area for most of the day.
Myron Schultz owns Wonderful World of Sheepskin on Dufferin Avenue, more than a block west of Main Street. He was driving down King Street to his business Saturday morning when he spotted the fire in the small building adjacent to the high-rise.
"I could see people. It looked like they were fleeing the building as I was approaching. And you could see flames in the building. It was quite a fire inside," Schultz said over the phone.
He estimated that there were between 10-20 people outside the building when he drove past it, but he couldn't tell if they had fled the building or had gathered outside to watch what was happening.
Brad Gross, a real estate agents, is selling the small apartment building, and he told CBC that it has eight units, and that either seven or eight of the units had people living in them.
This fire comes less than a month after three businesses a couple of blocks north of Saturday's fire were destroyed by fire.
It's hard seeing more buildings in the neighbourhood go up in flames, Schultz said.