Hundreds of animals die in Steinbach fire

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/07/2022 (1213 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Hundreds of animals at a pet store were killed after flames tore through a Steinbach strip mall Sunday.

It smelled of smoke in downtown Steinbach Monday morning as firefighters put out the smouldering remains of the mall at 243 Main St.

The building had several businesses, including offices, a paint store, a flooring retailer and Best West Pet Foods, which was full of animals and inventory — most of which were destroyed.

“It’s definitely one of the most stressful moments of my life,” said Steven Larson, Best West’s manager, describing how he felt while watching the building burn.

“It definitely was a hopeless feeling, too. Not being allowed into the building and knowing our animals were in there,” he said. “The firefighters did what they could for us… it ended up being a worst-case scenario.”

Larson was still tabulating the losses when he spoke to the Free Press.

He didn’t have exact figures but estimated thousands of fish and up to 200 small animals, including birds, rodents, and reptiles, had died in the fire. No cats or dogs were in the store.

The fire consumed up to $250,000 in inventory, Larson said.

Firefighters saved two bearded lizards and a chameleon before they evacuated the building. All three were covered in a layer of acrid soot, possibly caused by chemicals that had burned in the flames, he said.

Larson has arranged veterinary appointments for the animals. He initially feared the bearded dragon had been poisoned, but its condition is improving, he said.

Kelvin Toews, chief of the Steinbach Fire Department, said crews responded to the call around 3:30 p.m., and remained there overnight.

Firefighters initially battled the blaze from inside but were quickly driven out into defensive positions as conditions worsened. Crews from the neighbouring RM of Hanover and La Broquerie fire departments were called in. About 60 firefighters worked in the operation, he said.

Chemicals from the paint and flooring retailers had the potential to create noxious fumes, so Toews reccomended the city issue an air-quality warning, asking nearby residents to remain indoors, close all windows and shut off their ventilation systems.

The warning came into effect around 10 p.m. Sunday and ended just after 2 p.m. Monday.

Fire crews and excavators searched for flare-ups as they tore down what was left of the structure. The building is a loss, Toews said.

The blaze disrupted neighbouring business because fire crews cut power to the area as a precaution, he said, adding that Manitoba Hydro was working to restore electricity.

Staff from the fire commissioner’s office completed their investigation around 4 p.m.

Toews could not confirm what caused the fire, but said it doesn’t appear to be suspicious.

The Main Street lot has been home to numerous businesses and a staple of the city’s downtown economy since at least the 1960s, said Steinbach MLA Kelvin Goertzen.

“It’s a significant building and obviously, a loss for the community,” he said. “They were essentially local businesses owned by local people, employing local people. When you lose a building, often it’s planned… that’s not the case with a fire. It’s very traumatic, and it’s very sudden.”

With nearly 18,000 residents, Steinbach is the third-largest city in Manitoba, but is extremely tight-knit, Goertzen said.

The Tory politician has lived there his entire life and has witnessed the community rally together after a tragedy.

“When there’s a loss like this, everybody kind of feels that loss… but that also means often in a community like Steinbach, everybody wants to help to try to mitigate that loss,” he said.

Larson said he has received community support since the blaze.

“It seems like every 10 minutes or so, I am getting a new message or a new phone call from somebody offering their help,” Larson said. “It’s overwhelming and makes me just humbled… just letting us know that we actually mean so much to these people.”

Steinbach’s Best West is one of 14 other stores in Ontario and Manitoba.

Larson hopes to establish a temporary location until the business owner, who lives in Ontario, can find a new location.

Insurance will cover wages for Larson and the five other staff, he said.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca