Manitoba

1 person critically injured in Winnipeg house fire after police operation closes North End street

One person was taken to hospital in critical condition following a house fire in Winnipeg's North End late Wednesday afternoon.

Police had blocked off the stretch of Dufferin Avenue more than an hour before the fire started

Smoke shoots out of a structure, blocking off a stretch of traffic.
Winnipeg emergency crews responded to a house fire on Dufferin Avenue, between Arlington and McKenzie streets, around 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday. (Justin Fraser/CBC)

One person was taken to hospital in critical condition following a house fire in Winnipeg's North End.

Emergency crews were called to reports of flames and smoke coming out of a bungalow on Dufferin Avenue, between McKenzie and Arlington streets, around 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, according to a news release from the City of Winnipeg.

Firefighters managed to get the fire under control in about 45 minutes, but while battling the blaze located a person inside.

That person was treated by paramedics before being taken to hospital. 

The fire is under investigation, and damage estimates are not yet available.

More than an hour before the fire had been reported, police had closed that same stretch of Dufferin Avenue, due to "an ongoing police operation." The block was closed for about 2½ hours.

When contacted Wednesday night, police provided no additional information about the nature of the operation that led them to close down the street, nor whether any arrests had been made.

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