Man removed from Transcona fire in critical condition dies

AN 18-year-old man has died of his injuries after a house fire Saturday in Transcona.

“Our members give everything they have to this job and moments like this weigh heavily on all of us,” a social media post written by the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg said Monday evening.

The post noted media reports identified the victim as Jason Ireland.

Firefighters were sent to 214 Yale Ave. West at 7:28 a.m. Saturday. They battled heavy smoke and flames from the one-and-a-half storey home until the fire was under control 45 minutes later.

Three of the people inside the house escaped before crews arrived but one needed to be carried out by firefighters, a neighbour said.

Four people were taken to hospital, with one in critical condition, the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service previously stated.

“We ask that Winnipeg please keep Jason’s mother, siblings, friends and the entire Ireland family in your thoughts as they navigate this unimaginable loss,” the post continued.

A neighbour told the Free Press over the weekend she believes the four are all boys, aged 18, 14, eight and four.

Investigators from the Winnipeg Police Service major crimes unit are investigating, a news release said. A police spokesperson said that is standard procedure in probing a fatal fire. No charges have been laid.

Firefighters were kept busy Monday as they battled multiple blazes across the city in short succession.

Crews were sent to a bungalow on the 500 block of Inkster Boulevard at 6:50 a.m. They found smoke and flames coming from the house upon arrival. The fire was declared under control by 7:42 a.m.

All occupants were able to escape before firefighters arrived. Three were sent to hospital in stable condition.

Half an hour later, crews were sent to battle a blaze at a two-storey mixed-use commercial/industrial building on the 300 block of Princess Street.

Firefighters used hose lines to attack the flames before launching an interior attack. That fire was deemed under control by 8:28 a.m. No injuries were reported.

Earlier Monday, firefighters were called to a fire at a vacant commercial and industrial building on Myrtle Street off Notre Dame Avenue.

Crews attacked the blaze from the outside at about 3:15 a.m., before they got the flames down enough to get inside and douse the fire. It was declared under control by about 4:45 a.m. No one was inside.

While that fire was being put out, another broke out in a vacant, 21/2-storey house on the 600 block of William Avenue near Health Sciences Centre. Firefighters were on the scene after 4:20 a.m. and quickly had the blaze under control. No one was found inside the house.

Firefighters also battled several fires Sunday, including one that broke out at a house under construction on the 1100 block of Garfield Street North.

When crews arrived at 6 p.m., they found the house engulfed in flames, but got the fire under control by around 6:30 p.m.

Fire officials issued an order for the structure to be demolished.

At 8:45 p.m., firefighters were sent to Newcastle Road in Fort Richmond, where they found smoke coming from a house. That blaze was under control by around 9 p.m.

The residents had got out on their own.

The WFPS said the fire was likely caused by someone attempting to thaw frozen pipes with a torch, which the service warns should never be attempted.

All of the fires remain under investigation, a release said.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca