Massive blaze burns Main Street block

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This article was published 11/02/2023 (976 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Three businesses were destroyed and an apartment building was evacuated after a fire broke out in the 800 block of Main Street Saturday morning.

The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service responded to reports of a fire at 843 Main Street shortly after 2:00 a.m., assistant chief Scott Wilkinson said.

“Our crews arrived to find heavy smoke and flames in the building. They attempted to make initial entry… but due to the conditions, they had to begin fighting the fire primarily from the exterior,” Wilkinson said, speaking to reporters on scene around 11:00 a.m.

“The biggest challenge we have right now is just the volume of the fire. The main building had an extensive amount of materials inside… that makes it very difficult to get to the (source) of the fire.”

The fire was initially reported at Surplus Direct, a discount retailer.

Flames quickly spread to neighbouring businesses Top Pro Roofing Ltd. (847 Main Street) and Lord Selkirk Furniture (835 Main Street) because the buildings share walls and a roof.

As Wilkinson spoke, firefighters continued to douse the fire in the background, using aerial ladders and hoses to attack the blaze from above.

Flames could still be seen within.

All three buildings had collapsed and were considered a total loss, Wilkinson said.

“Our crews did everything they could to prevent that, but it’s been a very challenging night.”

Firefighters prevented flames from spreading to a fourth adjoining apartment building on the corner of Jarvis Avenue and Main Street, but the three-storey structure was evacuated and suffered damage from smoke, Wilkinson said.

Crews do not yet know the extent of damage, but believe it is mostly contained to the exterior. Wilkinson did not know when residents might be able to return, he said.

Roughly 15 homes on Austin Street North were also evacuated due to heavy smoke.

“(The buildings) definitely had various combustibles in them. There’s always toxicity in that smoke… so that’s why we took precautions with everybody in the area,” he said. “There’s no damage to the homes.”

The City of Winnipeg cooperated with the effort, offering displaced residents shelter within a Winnipeg Transit bus. Roughly 16 people accessed the support.

No civilian injuries were reported as a result of the fire, but three firefighters suffered minor injuries and were transported to hospital in stable condition.

The assistant chief could not elaborate on what caused the injuries.

It is too early to comment on the potential cause of the blaze. The size of the fire and extent of the damage will require a lengthy investigation, he said.

Roughly 30 per cent of the WFPS’s 167 on-duty members responded to the fire earlier in the day, with crews closing traffic on Main Street between Jarvis and Euclid Avenues and asking people to avoid the area.

“Based on what we are seeing now, they will likely be on scene for many hours to come. We are hopeful we can slowly reduce the amount of (equipment) and open up portions of Main Street, but that’s yet to be determined,” Wilkinson said.

The fire drew a small crowd on the west side of Main Street throughout the morning as residents and passersby stopped to watch. Some remarked on the taste and smell of acrid smoke, while others filmed the firefighting efforts.

In front of the Northern Hotel at 826 Main Street, Jimmy — who declined to provide his last name — sat in his wheelchair.

The 48-year-old double-amputee moved into the Jarvis apartment in June and has seen police, firefighters and paramedics respond to the block more times than he can count, he said.

Jimmy was leaving the hotel around 2:00 a.m. when he saw smoke coming from around Surplus Direct. He went home to his apartment, but left shortly after when a fellow tenant warned him the fire was spreading, he said.

He did not immediately seek emergency support from the City of Winnipeg and instead planned to call the Canadian Red Cross later.

He hopes not to return to the area, which he said is rife with addictions and poverty.

“Alarms are always going off in there at all times… It’s kind of like a cry wolf thing, and that’s what I was thinking (during the evacuation),” he said. “Now I’m thinking we probably won’t be able to get back in there.”

Speaking inside the hotel lobby, owner Keith Horn, 60, lamented the loss of the neighbouring businesses.

“It’s not good… The area is on the decline. The (North End Business Improvement Zone) is trying to build it back up, but people aren’t coming down here to buy buildings,” said Horn, who has owned the hotel since 1997.

“We need businesses on Main Street.”

The prolonged road closures hurt business at the hotel restaurant, which was unable to fulfill online food orders because drivers could not easily access the street for pick-up. The hotel beer vendor also saw reduced traffic, Horn said.

An employee working at Surplus Direct Clothing Outlet at 1244 Main Street said owner Robert McDonald — who also runs the 843 Main Street location — was unavailable to comment Saturday.

“It’s not a good time today because he is still in shock… he hasn’t been sleeping,” the staff member said.

Lord Selkirk Furniture also declined to comment.

“We just want some privacy. This is a difficult time for all of us right now,” staff said by phone.

Top Pro Roofing did not respond to email or phone requests for comment.

The 843 Main Street location was formerly home to Kern-Hill Furniture Ltd.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca