1 in custody after standoff ends with house fire in Chalmers area

A man was pulled by police from a fortified window in the midst of a house fire Thursday evening, ending an hours-long standoff in Winnipeg's Chalmers neighbourhood.

The man, who police have not named, was taken to hospital for "precautionary reasons," said Const. Jay Murray.

He was pulled from the fortified home after the building started fire, hours into the standoff. The man's arrest ended a series of police incidents that started early Thursday afternoon, Murray said.

Around 1:15 p.m., police were called about a firearms-related incident at another home in the Chalmers area, Murray said.

About half an hour later, a vehicle was involved in a crash on the Nairn overpass. A man fled from the crash on foot, Murray said.

Shortly after that, the man was seen entering a home on Nairn Avenue, Murray said. The man threatened to shoot police officers.

"Members of the Tactical Support team arrived a short time later and began to treat the incident as an armed and barricaded incident," Murray said.

"Throughout the course of the afternoon and the evening, three individuals were safely removed from the house."

Then, around 8:10 p.m., fire was spotted at the house.

Murray said he believes officers who pulled the man from the home saved the man's life.

Shortly after 9 p.m. Thursday, Murray said everyone who had been in the house had made it out safely. He couldn't confirm the relationship between the suspect and the other people who were removed from the home.

Tyler Huff, who lives with his wife and children two doors down from the home, described the scene as "an unwelcoming situation" for his family, which moved here from Toronto six months ago.

"I really hope that they get these people off the streets and put away, so they can't hurt small families in this community who are just trying to live in peace."

Huff said he was glad his children weren't home at the time of the standoff, but said he felt bad for his neighbours who had to hide out in their homes for hours. He said it wasn't the first time he's felt unsafe since moving to Winnipeg.

"I've never seen violence like this in Toronto," he said. "Ever since we've been here, it's just been occurrence after occurrence after occurrence … and it's a small town."

Murray said meth is being considered as a possible factor in the incident. He hoped to be able to release more information Friday.

Murray said the incident is "certainly unusual."

"I think it speaks to the random nature of police work," he said. "It probably as a very stagnant ordeal from the outside. Then, all of a sudden, you can have an incident like that, where you're rushing to either make a decision to enter a house, to stay back. … And that's just the nature of police work."

The investigation continues.