Fire response ‘constitutes bad faith’

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This article was published 12/07/2023 (817 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The jurisdictional snafu between fire departments, which resulted in a massive blaze roaring through a commercial area just outside Winnipeg city limits two years ago, remains unresolved.

Brad Erb, reeve of the Municipality of Macdonald, said there is still no firefighting agreement between his municipality and the City of Winnipeg.

“There is nothing in place with the City of Winnipeg,” Erb said on Tuesday. “I don’t anticipate one at this time.”

Fire broke out on June 30, 2021 at a McGillivray Boulevard complex that contained several businesses. A 911 call seeking help was made at 1:22 p.m.

A Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service (WFPS) crew was rushing to the scene — but three minutes later the call was cancelled — because the blaze was determined to be a few hundred metres outside Winnipeg city limits.

It took a fire crew from the municipality about half an hour after the initial 911 call to get to the scene. By then, heavy black smoke was pouring out of the complex. The municipality — which is located on the southwest side of the city — is protected by a single fire station, in Sanford.

So many Winnipeggers called 911 that, at 2:03 p.m., a WFPS spokesperson said a “WFPS executive” made the decision to send fire crews to the scene. City fire crews began supplying water to municipal firefighters and deployed a ladder truck to spray the fire from above.

The blaze caused millions of dollars in damages and destroyed or damaged several businesses.

Erb said during the past two years the municipality has reviewed its overall fire response, and replaced its equipment with new equipment, but “that’s all that has happened.

“The City (of Winnipeg) would need a level of comfort to do it.”

That’s because the city, which admitted just after the fire that it had been discussing a fire service sharing agreement with the municipality for more than a year, said no progress could be made until after the Windsor Park fire station was demolished and an engine was transferred to Waverley West.

A temporary fire hall is supposed to be up and running in Waverley West sometime this year, but it would still be a few years before a permanent one is constructed in the booming neighbourhood.

A WFPS spokesman said Tuesday there are no fire-response agreements with any of the city’s adjacent municipalities.

“The city would only consider such agreements on a cost-recovery basis.”

In 2021, WFPS charged $1,330 per hour for each fire truck and $333 for each district chief and driver assisting at fires outside the city’s boundary.

ReGen Composites, owned by a former Winnipeg firefighter, launched a lawsuit against several entities, including the Municipality of Macdonald, Pool Pros Ltd., and Manitoba Hydro. The business was destroyed in the fire and has not reopened. The lawsuit is still before the courts.

But another business owner has chosen to also sue the two fire departments.

A statement of claim was filed by Auto Show Sales and Finance, a used-vehicle dealer at 3165 McGillivray Blvd., on June 29. That company is suing Pool Pros, the Municipality of Macdonald, its municipal fire department, the WFPS, and the City of Winnipeg.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified general and special damages and reimbursement for the cost of emergency and permanent repairs to the property, cleaning and restoration, and loss of business income.

The company says the fire “caused significant fire, smoke and water damage” at its business.

Auto Show Sales is seeking to be reimbursed for the increased cost of its insurance.

The company claims Pool Pros, as well as two other companies identified only by ABC and DEF, caused the fire or failed to prevent it and created “a fire hazard and a dangerous situation.”

The company claimed Manitoba Hydro took six hours before disconnecting gas service to the site.

The lawsuit also alleges the conduct of the two fire departments, both in their response to the fire and how they fought it, “was reckless and inexplicable and constitutes bad faith.”

“The actions of the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service, the Macdonald Fire Department, and Manitoba Hydro, and each of them, permitted the fire to spread extensively and become uncontrollable, causing or contributing to the plaintiff’s losses.”

The lawsuit hasn’t been tested in court and no statement of defence has been filed.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca