Vacant Winnipeg apartment building set for demolition after 3rd fire since 2023

A vacant three-storey apartment block is set to be demolished, after Winnipeg firefighters were called Friday night to the third fire at the Mountain Avenue building since August 2023.

The building, located on the 300 block of Mountain, just west of Main Street, had significant smoke, fire and water damage after the latest fire and must be demolished due to structural concerns, the city said in a Saturday news release.

Firefighters began fighting the blaze around 7:45 p.m. Friday, and attacked the flames from outside the building using an aerial ladder.

Most of the fire had been extinguished by Saturday morning, but several crews were still at the scene putting out smoldering hot spots, the city said.

Several neighbouring residences have been temporarily evacuated as a precaution. The fire remains under investigation and no injuries have been reported. 

Some roads in the area will close until the demolition is complete, the city said. It also warned people in the area to be careful, because frigid temperatures in Winnipeg have created slippery conditions.

Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service Deputy Chief Scott Wilkinson said crews had to fight the fire from outside because it wasn't safe to enter, due to the structural damage from previous fires. 

"That just means longer response times for other potential calls in those areas," he told CBC.

The vacant apartment block was also damaged in a fire in January of last year and one in August 2023, the city said.

The city also confirmed Saturday it's the same building where a January 2022 fire sent two people to hospital.

"We are, unfortunately, going back to many vacant buildings, multiple times, for fires that have been set," often by vulnerable people seeking warmth or in arson incidents, Wilkinson said.

In 2023, the city had a record 156 fires at vacant properties — a 38 per cent increase from the previous year, according to city data released last year.

The city was on pace to break that record last year, with approximately 150 fires at vacant buildings by the end of October, the president of the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg previously told CBC.

Though final numbers haven't been released, "we would have definitely set a record for vacant building fires in 2024," Wilkinson said. "And the way things have started [this year], that doesn't appear to be diminishing at this point so far."