Roads closed due to fire on Logan Avenue, crews still on scene

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This article was published 06/08/2023 (848 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Multiple firefighting crews were on the scene of a fire on Logan Avenue into the early evening as smoke billowed through the surrounding area.

Crews were called to the scene on Sunday morning at 1:36 a.m. after hearing reports about a large commercial fire on the 900 block of Logan Avenue.

Logan Avenue and Alexander Avenue between Arlington Street and McPhillips Street were still closed as of 5:00 p.m. Pedestrians and drivers were asked to avoid the area.

In the late morning, the structure, identified as the Anco Lumber building, continued to burn. Five fire trucks, including two ladder trucks and three engines, were on the scene.

At 5:00 p.m. three fire trucks were stationed at the scene as crews continued to hose the building. By then, the smoke had grown lighter and no flames were visible from outside the building. An ambulance and several police vehicles were also at the scene. Smoke continued to impact the air quality in the surrounding area.

While talking to the media just before noon, Dick Vlaming, the acting platoon chief of the Winnipeg Fire and Paramedic Service (WFPS), said he wasn’t sure when the fire would be put out. He was not concerned about it spreading to other buildings.

“We’re not really worried about that, it’s just the smoke that we were having trouble with,” Vlaming said. “We’d really like people to watch where they are and don’t stand in the smoke.”

Vlaming said that the initial response brought sixteen firefighters to the scene. After the second alarm, another sixteen arrived.

“After that, we just keep adding,” he said. “At one point, we could’ve had about fifty firefighters at the scene.”

Six residents living south of the fire on Alexander Avenue were evacuated from their homes on two Winnipeg Transit buses.

One firefighter was injured at the site but did not have to go to the hospital.

Vlaming said Health Sciences Centre was put on Code Grey for external/internal air contamination. He said the smoke was “toxic” but didn’t name specific health contaminants.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

cierra.bettens@freepress.mb.ca