Abandoned Maryland street apartment building goes up in flames, again

A West End Winnipeg apartment building has gone up in flames, a year after two fires in the same building forced 50 residents to flee.

The fire broke out in the abandoned, 4-storey, red brick building on Maryland Street near Ellice Avenue just before 8 pm. on Wednesday.

Electricity was cut to surrounding buildings as a precaution, and several nearby homes were evacuated, according to deputy fire chief Russ Drohomereski.

Winnipeg Transit provided buses as temporary shelter for evacuees.

"As soon as (firefighters) were inside they realized that there was much bigger than it appeared from the outside and they backed out immediately and just went defensive," Drohomereski said.

Crews fought the fire from the exterior using aerial ladder trucks and a drone.

When Drohomereski spoke to CBC late Wednesday night, he said the majority of the fire was on the top of the building, which can pose a safety risk for crews.

"[The fire] is through the entire attic, through the entire top floor of the building.… It's starting to work its way down," he said. 

"There's more of a risk of things falling off the building," he added. "So we have all of our firefighters pulled back to what we call a 'collapse zone.' So they are far enough back that if something falls off, it's not going to contact anyone."

As of Wednesday night, no injuries had been reported.

This is the same apartment building that went up in flames almost exactly a year ago.

There is no word yet on where the fire started or what caused the blaze. A press release from the city said crews expected to be fighting the fire all night long.

Winnipeg police say Maryland Street between Ellice and St. Matthews is expected to remain closed through Thursday afternoon.