Apartment building destroyed by fire

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This article was published 14/01/2012 (5217 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Police have taken a number of people into custody following a blaze on Sherbrook Street that saw as many as 20 people hospitalized for treatment and dozens forced to flee the blaze.

Winnipeg police spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen confirmed that some people were taken into custody on Furby Street. “They could be witnesses. They could be suspects. Who knows? I don’t want to speculate,” he said.

But Michalyshen said the department’s arson strike force has been advised.

Crews responded to the fire at an apartment block at 577 Sherbrook Street at around 7:10 a.m.

Between 40 and 50 people were evacuated from the building. The fire could be seen burning on several floors, and thick cloud of grey smoke could still be seen billowing over the site of the blaze hours later.

The fire closed Sherbrook to traffic between Ellice Avenue and Sargent Avenue, and drivers and pedestrians were asked to avoid the area.

James Beaucage said he and his wife Jessie Whitaker lost everything in the blaze. “We only had time to grab our cat,” he said.

“All I have is the receiver of our phone,” Whitaker said.

Whitaker said she heard the smoke alarm go off at at 7 a.m. and when she went out to investigate, she saw smoke billowing up the front stairwell.  “I ran back, banged on the door across the hall where a mother and young kid lived, told her to get out, and then went to get my husband, told him to get our cat,” she said.

Deputy Chief of Operations Bill Clark said about 20 people were rushed to hospital, including four people in unstable condition, all for injuries related to smoke inhalation.

“We were rescuing people who were hanging out the windows when we showed up,” said Clark. He said they were able to go through the entire building looking for people before switching to a defensive attack on the fire to save the nearby buildings.

Police later said two people who had been in unstable condition were later upgraded to stable.

Damage has been estimated at $600,000.

Video by Mike Deal / Winnipeg Free Press

Video submitted by Jody Spriggs