More fires in vacant houses

Crews extinguished fires in two vacant houses Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

Firefighters were sent to a two-storey house on the 1200 block of Alexander Avenue, in the Weston area, at 9:12 a.m. Thursday. The blaze was declared under control at 9:55 a.m.

Emergency demolition was being arranged. The house sustained “severe” fire and water damage, the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service said.

The house was previously damaged by a fire on the morning of Oct. 6. A person lived there at the time. The WFPS said at the time that early observations suggested the fire was accidental, caused by an overheated battery.

Firefighters were sent to a vacant two-storey house on the 300 block of Selkirk in the William Whyte area at 9:14 p.m. Wednesday. They declared the fire under control at 9:35 p.m.

The Alexander Avenue fire is the third in less than two weeks involving a vacant home that had previously caught fire. A house at 560 Mountain Ave. was damaged in a fire on April 16 after a previous fire Feb. 2. A vacant house on the 300 block of Manitoba Avenue was damaged by fire on April 16 after an earlier fire on March 27. The first fire is believed to have started accidentally.

The City of Winnipeg reported a record 125 vacant building fires in 2023, up to Nov. 15. Figures for the full year, or this year, are not available.

Crews also extinguished a garage fire Thursday, on the 1900 block of Elgin Avenue. Firefighters were sent there at 9:36 a.m. and found the fire was threatening adjacent buildings. The blaze was declared under control at 10:06 a.m. Emergency demolition of the garage was being arranged.

The causes of the three fires Wednesday and Thursday are under investigation.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca