2 people injured in Winnipeg house fires, including 1 who jumped from 2nd-storey window

One person jumped from a second-storey window of a townhouse while another was rescued from the upper level of a home in two separate fires in Winnipeg on Thursday morning.

The blazes happened about 15 minutes apart and about a kilometre from one another, said a news release from the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service.

The first, called in at 5:55 a.m., was in a 2½-storey house on Winnipeg Avenue, just off Arlington Street.

It forced emergency crews to shut down Arlington in both directions between Notre Dame and McDermot avenues.

Heavy black smoke was pouring from the house when crews arrived and one person was trapped on an upper floor, the news release said.

Ladders were used to rescue the person while other firefighters went inside to fight the flames. Two cats were also saved from the home.

The rescued person was sent to hospital in stable condition. No other injuries were reported.

The fire was declared under control just before 7 a.m., but crews remained on scene, putting out hot spots. Some road closures are still in place.

The cause of the fire is under investigation and no damage estimates are available yet.

The house has significant smoke, fire and water damage, the news release said.

Crews were called to the second fire at 6:08 a.m., in a two-storey townhouse on Parr Street between Dufferin and Stella avenues, on the other side of the CPKC railyard from the earlier fire.

Heavy smoke and flames were coming from a townhouse, forcing firefighters to attack the flames from outside before they could enter the unit.

All of the residents had managed to get out before firefighters arrived, but one was injured after jumping from a second-floor window, the news release said.

That person was sent to hospital in unstable condition. No other injuries were reported.

The neighbouring townhouse units were evacuated by firefighters and sheltered on a transit bus, where the city's emergency social services team offered support.

Crews remain at the fire as of 10 a.m., working to fully extinguish it. Road closures in the area remain in effect.

As with the fire on Winnipeg Avenue, the Parr townhouse sustained significant smoke, fire and water damage. The cause is under investigation.

The frigid weather created challenging conditions for firefighters, with areas around the fires quickly becoming ice-covered and slippery.

Crews also needed to be rotated out for breaks from the cold.

The city is under an extreme cold warning from Environment Canada. The temperature at the time of the fires was –29 C with a windchill of –38.

City of Winnipeg crews will spread sand and de-icer to roadways and sidewalks after fire crews are done.