Fires at convenience stores under investigation

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This article was published 01/04/2024 (911 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Fire investigators have deemed three recent blazes in inner-city convenience stores to be suspicious.

Winnipeg Police Service spokesman Const. Claude Chancy said major crimes detectives will soon begin investigating the fires to determine whether there is a criminal element to any of them. If the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service finds something suspicious, the investigators will alert the WPS major crimes unit.

No officials have indicated any of the fires are connected.

The most recent fire, at the Quickie Mart at 600 Selkirk Ave., started late Thursday night and gutted the building. Fire crews were sent to the two-storey building on the corner of Selkirk Avenue and McGregor Street at 11:56 p.m. The fire was declared under control at 1:09 a.m. Friday. No one was hurt.

A blaze broke out in the J&F Supermarket, a 24-hour shop at Sargent Avenue and Beverley Street, at about 1:20 a.m. on March 20. A clerk trapped in the burning building was rushed to hospital in critical condition.

Flames overtook Bestway Food Market and Laundry at Main Street and Mountain Avenue shortly before midnight on March 17. Everyone in the building got out on their own, the fire department said at the time.