Block heaters lead to 3 weekend fires in Winnipeg: Firefighters
City issues warning not to plug cars in garages after three fires caused by block heaters
A truck and a house with an attached garage were damaged in one of three fires that Winnipeg crews responded to on Saturday that all involved a block heater.
The latest fire started around 8:30 p.m. at a single-family, bi-level house on David Street between Portage and Fairlane Avenues. The fire fully engulfed a vehicle and extended to the house and garage, Winnipeg firefighters said in a news release on Sunday.
The fire was extinguished shortly after 10 p.m. and no injuries were reported, fire crews said.
Earlier on Saturday, firefighters went to a two-storey, single-family home on Four Mile Road, located southeast of the Perimeter Highway, at 4:30 p.m. Firefighters extinguished flames coming from a garage using water tankers, a news release said on Saturday.
The residents in the home were able to get to safety before crews arrived at the scene and no injuries were reported. Firefighters said the damages were mostly contained to the garage.
Firefighters also responded to a vehicle fire in an attached garage at 11:45 a.m. at a single-family bungalow on Yorkvalley Way in the South Pointe neighborhood.
Crews were able to prevent the fire from spreading to the garage and no injuries were reported, a news release said on Saturday.
Outdoor conditions 'challenging' for firefighters: WFPS
Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service (WFPS) Deputy Chief Scott Wilkinson said fires starting at attached garages or at homes overnight go undetected until they have already stretched, placing them at a higher risk level.
"We have citizens within these homes," he told reporters on Sunday. "[It] creates a whole new aspect of rescue for our teams to consider. So it complicates things."
Over the past few weeks, crews have also been responding to a growing number of small electrical fires and blazes at vacant buildings, Wilkinson said.
"It's challenging for our crews. They do a fantastic job," he said, but while working outdoors with the temperature feeling like -32 C with the wind chill, water lines have a tendency to freeze, and firefighters are at risk of hypothermia and frostbite.
"We have issues with keeping things operating," he added. "It's just putting people and our staff at risk."
Preliminary investigations suggest each of the three fires were accidental and involved a plugged-in block heater.
Fire crews are reminding people not to plug in vehicles while parked inside garages because flames can quickly spread to other structures in the event of a fire.
Firefighters also suggest people check their block heaters for any frayed cords or replace the extension cord if it's accidentally been driven away with it still plugged into an outlet.