Goodwill store destroyed by fire after vehicle rams into shop

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This article was published 26/03/2019 (2417 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A south Winnipeg Goodwill store was destroyed after a vehicle smashed into it and started a fire that gutted the shop.

“It sounded like an explosion in front and they didn’t know what was going on,” Doug Chase, operations manager at Canadian Goodwill Industries, said at the scene Tuesday afternoon, hours after SUV plowed into the storefront at 1540 Pembina Hwy.

Everyone in the store got out the back safely, but the initial crash and fire had staff and customers scared, he said, noting that nobody was at the front of the store when the vehicle came through the glass.

“Everyone was freaking out. There was a bit of panic but everyone got out safely,” Chase said as crews positioned a crane across the northbound lanes of Pembina to pull down the front of the second-hand shop.

“There was still smoke coming from the roof when I got here. That’s why they’re pulling down the front of the store now.”

The employees with Chase declined comment but nodded when asked if they were all right. A couple nodded with emphasis when Chase described the initial moments of panic inside the store.

The first crews from Winnipeg Fire Paramedic responded to the initial call about 11:15 a.m. and were met with heavy smoke and flames shooting from the front of the store. Extra crews were called in and nearby buildings were evacuated.

When the fire was under control, the vehicle that had slammed into the store was finally visible.

The driver was the only person taken to hospital and was reported in stable condition. No other injuries were reported.

The northbound lanes were expected to be closed for hours Tuesday afternoon as crews cleaned up the scene.

Winnipeg police were taking over the investigation into the cause of the crash that sent the SUV into the storefront. No estimates of damage were available Tuesday afternoon.

Canadian Goodwill Industries is a local charity that operates half-a-dozen second-hand stores in the province, including five in Winnipeg and one in the Interlake. Its first outlet opened downtown in 1933.