‘I have nothing left’

The wildfire that ripped through north Transcona Monday ruined the livelihood of dozens of people when it destroyed vehicles on a storage lot.

“There was nothing we can do,” Godspower Emajemite said as he stood among piles of smouldering rubble at 568 Gunn Rd. on Tuesday.

Melted metal, burnt-out vehicle frames and soot was all that was left at the property, Oluspe Autos and Parts Inc., where people rent plots to store and salvage old cars for parts and scrap metal.

Emajemite, who had the biggest lot in the yard, estimates he lost about $100,000 worth of products. The lot had at least 100 cars when the flames raged through the site, he said.

Renters walked among their possessions taking video of the damage throughout Tuesday in an effort to track their losses.

One renter, who declined to provide his name, estimated he’d lost $200,000. “I have nothing left. This was my entire livelihood,” he said.

Fire crews were sent to the blaze, located on the south side of Gunn Road and east of Day Street, just after 2 p.m. Monday. They fought against soaring temperatures and high winds before containing the fire at about 5 p.m., Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service deputy fire chief Scott Wilkinson said Monday.

Emajemite was at the yard that afternoon when he noticed the blaze start in the field behind the lot. North winds quickly fanned the flames towards the lot, and the vehicles were engulfed.

“(The smoke) was engulfing us in deep darkness. We can’t even see anything,” he said.

Roman Gossow, who manages Central Sandblasting and Specialty Coatings at 600 Gunn Rd., said one of his employees saw a small fire in the field behind his shop and called 911.

When the wind picked up, the flames spread “like wildfire.”

“Once it hit (the vehicle lot), that was just a disaster,” Gossow said. “The fire department, they didn’t try to put it out. They just controlled and let it just burn.”

Al Thompson, owner of Thompson Rink Equipment, at 592 Gunn Rd next door, was waiting for the power to come back on to his building to see the extent of the damage to the structure.

“This is our busy season. I need it back so I can get going,” he said.

Power was restored to customers by 3:30 p.m. Tuesday but Manitoba Hydro workers remained at the scene to assess damage to its infrastructure, Hydro spokesperson Peter Chura said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, fire service spokesperson Erin Madden said.

Several properties, some of which had more than one structure or business, were damaged.

Oluspe Autos and Parts Inc. remained under a fire watch. Crews will return regularly to check for hot spots and water down anything that’s smouldering or rekindling. The business did not respond to requests for comment.

Dry, hot conditions have kept fire crews busy over the past two days.

Winnipeg firefighters quickly extinguished another wildfire early Tuesday. Crews were sent to the grass fire on the 200 block of Warman Road at 5:10 a.m.

They were summoned to battle two other grass fires Monday afternoon. One, at the rear of Balaban Place, was called in at about 4:30 p.m. Firefighters were sent to a fire, near Rue des Trappistes and Pembina Highway, about an hour later.

Nick Kasper, president of the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg, said the vast majority of grass fires are caused by people, including discarded cigarette butts and sparks from train wheels.

Kasper said he is extremely concerned about the summer fire season because a large number of grass fires will be problematic with the current level of resources.

“(Monday) was just a taste of what’s to come,” Kasper said.

Members are burnt out and exhausted, and are forced to work overtime due to the shortage of firefighters, the union leader said.

Call volumes have increased 87 per cent in the last four years, but the department has not hired enough staff to account for the increased workload, Kasper said.

“Our members are (cancelling) their holiday tours to come in to work to keep trucks on duty, and it’s still not enough,” he said. “We have passed the tipping point, and I anticipate this year is only going to be worse than last year, both in costs to the taxpayer and cost to our members’ health.”

A recent report by the union calls on the city to fund 59 additional full-time firefighters to reduce injuries, overtime and sick time.

The city’s fleet consists of 933 firefighters, the report said.

Mayor Scott Gillingham said the city has partnerships with neighbouring municipalities and the WFPS calls upon them when extra resources are needed. The Gunn Road site borders the RM of Springfield, whose firefighters helped respond to Monday’s wildfire.

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Transcona Coun. Russ Wyatt questioned the ability to protect the area, which has a large number of manufacturing plants that contain highly flammable material, in a radio interview Tuesday. Wyatt could not be reached by the Free Press Tuesday.

In response, Gillingham said he expects property owners follow city regulations.

“I trust that all property owners will work hard to maintain and comply with those rules,” the mayor said.

A provincial spokesperson said Tuesday it conducted one inspection of 568 Gunn Rd. in November 2024 following a complaint about improper disposal of automotive fluids, but the complaint was ruled unsubstantiated.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca

Nicole Buffie
Multimedia producer

Nicole Buffie is a reporter for the Free Press city desk. Born and bred in Winnipeg, Nicole graduated from Red River College’s Creative Communications program in 2020 and worked as a reporter throughout Manitoba before joining the Free Press newsroom as a multimedia producer in 2023. Read more about Nicole.

Every piece of reporting Nicole produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.