2 died from injuries after Christmas morning fire in Winnipeg apartment: police

Winnipeg police say a man and a woman died of their injuries after a Christmas morning fire in a downtown-area apartment building sent six residents to hospital and displaced 42.

Const. Jay Murray with the public information office confirmed the two deaths in an email to CBC Wednesday. 

Authorities are in the process of notifying the man and woman's next of kin.

Firefighters were called to Warwick Apartments on Qu'Appelle Avenue and Carlton Street just before 4 a.m. on Sunday and received reports of multiple residents trapped inside their apartments.

Emergency crews rushed six people to hospital, including three in critical condition and one who was unstable.

The building, which is six storeys high, serves as public housing.

Earlier that night, Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service said it came to the Warwick Apartments to put out a small fire.

Michael Gibeault, a 12-year resident, called building security about the first fire. When he noticed the second fire, he said he grabbed a fire extinguisher from his fourth-floor suite and began to battle it himself.

2 people die after Winnipeg apartment fire

2 years ago

Duration 1:51

Winnipeg police say two people have died after a Christmas morning apartment fire in downtown Winnipeg. Residents say they had previously raised safety concerns in the building.

"I was fighting it to make sure it didn't spread to anybody else's unit," Gibeault said Tuesday. "I'm the one who went around, knocked on everybody's door. I yelled, fire, fire, fire. Get everybody out."

Among those he helped go down the stairs were a pregnant woman and a man with an oxygen tank.

Meanwhile, firefighters were completing a search of the building to help get residents out who couldn't leave on their own, said Erin Madden, a spokesperson with the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service.

She says they're investigating both fires, but it's not known at this time if they are linked. Police are also investigating, which is typical of severe or fatal fires, Murray says.

Gibeault says he only stopped fighting the fire once the flames escaped the suite he believes the blaze started in. His eyebrows were burned, as was a portion of his right arm.

Stephanie Bredin has lived on the second floor for five years. She quickly became aware of the heavy smoke.

"I noticed there was smoke, went back, did a quick sweep, got my kids ... and made sure to let any tenants on that side [of the building] know," she said.

Fire alarms go off far too often in the building says Bredin, who is a mother of two kids, ages four and five. She said fires are also common, with recent fires being set in the garbage outside and in stairwells.

"Most people when the fire alarms would go off ... they would just sleep through it. They wouldn't even bother going down because it's so often a false alarm," she said. "With my kids I have no choice because they don't like the sound."

Madden says Winnipeg Fire Paramedic's fire prevention branch has found no red flags on any reports from this Manitoba Housing building over the past few years.

She says any violations of fire code have historically been repaired quickly.

The residents displaced by the fire at the 113-year-old heritage building are staying at a hotel in the city for the foreseeable future.

Safety concerns on rise at building, residents say

Gibeault says he's long felt unsafe in the building and wants the Crown agency to act on safety concerns. 

"I want to get the hell out of there. And my family's not safe," he said. My son came over there for Christmas. He could have died in that fire."

Gibeault said he's had his suite broken into. Mailboxes get damaged and drug paraphernalia and garbage are strewn about outside, he said. While there are security cameras, he believes they aren't monitored around the clock. 

"I don't feel safe – ever. I have to have a baseball bat by my door in case someone breaks into my unit," Gibeault said. 

"They should start listening to their tenants. The tenants are the one who's living in your building. You should be listening to your tenants, not pushing them away."

Bredin echoed his concerns, saying problems have escalated in recent months.

"Our key card things have been ripped off, about three times in two months. The front door has been smashed, was fixed and then smashed again," Bredin said. 

"The back door has been smashed multiple times. There's times where you go through garbage at the back and you have people sitting there doing meth or drinking. It's a huge safety issue." 

Manitoba Housing should do more to ensure the security presence at the block is meaningful, Bredin said.