(UFFW 867 / FILE)
The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service responded to two separate apartment building fires early Friday morning.
Crews were first called just before 1 a.m. to a monitored fire alarm in a 12-storey high-rise in the 100 block of Powers Street. Firefighters arrived to find thick black smoke inside the building and located a fire in one suite. The blaze was brought under control by 1:30 a.m.
Many residents had already self-evacuated, while firefighters assisted others out of the building. A Winnipeg Transit bus was deployed to provide temporary shelter. Paramedics assessed several people at the scene and transported one person to hospital in stable condition. Most residents were later able to return to their suites. Damage was primarily contained to the unit where the fire started, with some water damage reported in neighbouring suites.
A few hours later, at 3:47 a.m., crews responded to another monitored fire alarm at a four-storey apartment building in the 300 block of Hargrave Street. Firefighters found smoke in the building and quickly extinguished a suite fire, bringing it under control by 4:29 a.m. All residents self-evacuated and no injuries were reported.
Both fires remain under investigation. Damage estimates were not immediately available.
