Large industrial fire triggers evacuation of 3-block area in Point Douglas

Plumes of dark smoke rose over Winnipeg's Point Douglas neighbourhood on Tuesday morning as a large fire tore through an industrial complex, triggering the evacuation of the nearby area. 

A brick wall collapsed and explosions were heard at the building on Sutherland Avenue, between Maple Street N. and Argyle Street N., CBC reporter Meaghan Ketcheson said from the scene.

"There are a number of vehicles, there's tire storage, there's propane canisters, so it is a significant fire load inside those buildings," Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service Deputy Chief Tom Wallace said Tuesday morning. 

"We've sent messaging out over social media to inform residents to keep their windows closed, just in case. People with respiratory conditions would be potentially affected by the smoke."

Fire crews were called to the fire shortly after 5 a.m. and they encountered "intense" flames, with some embers blowing onto nearby homes, Wallace said.

WATCH | Smoke pours from industrial complex in Winnipeg's Point Douglas area:

Winnipeg city block ablaze amid industrial complex fire

1 year ago

Duration 1:30

Winnipeg Deputy Fire Chief Tom Wallace describes how a fire engulfed an industrial complex that spans a city block on Tuesday in the city’s Point Douglas neighbourhood.

Fire officials said it appears there were businesses operating in part of the complex, but there was no one inside the building when the fire broke out and no injuries have been reported. 

However, fire crews had to evacuate about a three-block area around the fire as a precaution, including a school, said Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service acting district chief Rob Labossiere.

By mid-afternoon, Labossiere said he didn't expect further evacuations would be necessary but they were asking residents to stay inside and keep their windows closed. 

Cherie Purdy, who lives nearby, said she was getting ready for work when she heard the sirens, and then police told her she had to leave.

"They [firefighters] actually had to put a fire out in our backyard, apparently, because something caught fire back there from the embers," she said.

"They got us out of there as fast as they could get us out of there. They hosed down our houses … because at that point, you could feel the flames right from the front stoop of the house."

Fire crews were expected to be at the site into Tuesday evening and possibly into Wednesday morning. Staff from the Manitoba government were also on scene doing air quality tests while also testing water runoff for possible chemical contamination to the area, Labossiere said. 

Platoon Chief Doug Grieve estimated the fire was "the length of a football field from north to south and probably 50 yards wide."

Three aerial ladders and up to 15 other firefighting vehicles and apparatus were there early to fight the blaze, the fire department said.

"We believe there's tire storage in there, which is always a heavy toxic fume," Grieve said.

Sutherland Avenue was closed between Disraeli Street and Main Street, and other roads in the area were expected to be impacted through the day, the city said.

Drivers and cyclists were advised to avoid the area.

The fire caused a power outage for 540 customers in North Point Douglas, Manitoba Hydro said on Twitter at 9:30 a.m., and it wasn't known when power might be restored.

The number of connected buildings on the lot was proving challenging for crews, Wallace said.

Firefighters used a drone equipped with infrared and thermal imaging to see through the smoke and target the hottest spots, he said.

"It was throughout the building and it was spreading quickly," Wallace said.

"[Drones] are now an essential piece of our firefighting complement. We can't do without them."

Point Douglas resident Keith Dzedzora said he and others in the area are concerned about recent fires.

"There's been a rash of fires down Austin and down on this side of Selkirk Avenue," said Dzedzora, who lives on Lorne Avenue.

As of 7:42 p.m. Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service said firefighters were still extinguishing hotspots and all area residents were able to return to their homes.

Labossiere said investigators were at the scene Tuesday but it could be a few days before a cause is determined. 

Drone shows industrial building on Sutherland Avenue still smouldering

1 year ago

Duration 0:53

Fire crews poured water on a fire in Point Douglas that broke out early on the morning of Tuesday, July 4, 2023. When firefighters arrived, there were flames and dense smoke coming from the building at the corner of Sutherland Avenue and Maple Street. It covers a full city block and was filled with tires, propane tanks and vehicles.