Well-trained fire crews did ‘excellent job’ at downtown high-rise, deputy chief says

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This article was published 18/08/2023 (793 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CITY firefighters are well-trained and prepared to deal with alarms in high-rise buildings, their deputy chief says, after crews worked to douse the flames that forced the evacuation of an 18-storey Stradbrook Avenue apartment block Thursday evening.

A firefighter in stable condition and a building tenant who was suffering from smoke inhalation and listed as unstable, were transported to hospital. The firefighter, who was examined for symptoms of heat exhaustion, was released Thursday night.

No other injuries were reported.

Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service personnel were still at the scene Friday morning.

Crews responded to the two-alarm blaze at about 7 p.m. Large plumes of grey and black smoke covered the city’s downtown and surrounding neighbourhoods.

The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service said the blaze was mostly isolated to the roof of the 18-storey building at 221 Stradbrook Ave., known as the The Spot at East Village. However there was extensive water damage, as well as smoke damage to some floors, preventing residents from immediately returning to their suites.

WFPS Deputy Chief Scott Wilkinson said high-rise fires present several challenges, although the equipment used is typical of all fire responses.

“The workload is substantial, the amount of resources required is substantially higher with just getting access to the fire, moving equipment, so our command team has to use different formats, different plans, to try to control the fire and track resources and account for personnel — this is a very large operation,” Wilkinson said Friday.

Between 16 and 18 units, including paramedics and platoon chiefs, initially responded Thursday, with additional crews arriving to cycle out as the first wave of personnel tired.

“It’s quite a bit different, it requires a lot of recognizance and planning, and that’s something our crews routinely do — train for these and also attempt to pre-plan some of these buildings so they have an idea of what to do on arrival,” Wilkinson said.

That includes routine training on the sprinkler and pipe systems within buildings, and work with property management companies on fire-response plans.

Wilkinson said crews will typically try to use elevators, which are rated for fire services, when safe. But when firefighters arrived, they could not immediately get control of the elevators, so they were forced to climb to the top floors while carrying gear weighing nearly 40 kilograms.

The fire was mostly contained to the roof’s heating, air-conditioning and ventilation equipment and crews got it under control by about 7:45 p.m.

WFPS said that while it is still investigating, preliminary observations suggest the blaze was sparked by an accidental electrical failure. Wilkinson said investigators do not yet know where, exactly, that failure occurred.

Firefighters worked with the more than 100 evacuated tenants to compile lists of essential goods in their suites, including keys and medications, and went up and down the stairs to retrieve and deliver the items.

They also spent several hours working with city animal services staff to find and retrieve tenants’ pets from suites. More than a dozen cats and several dogs were evacuated, WFPS said.

The city sent transit buses for the displaced residents to sit in while they waited for help. Emergency social services workers helped about 45 of the residents find temporary lodging. Wilkinson did not have exact numbers on hand, but he said many were able to find somewhere to stay on their own.

“The power was out, there was extensive water damage — I would anticipate it would be a lengthy restorative process,” he said, adding WFPS personnel did “an excellent job.”

“There’s quite a bit going on in these buildings. It is quite an event when we have (fires in high-rises).”

He said WFPS recently worked with management of the newly constructed, 42-storey 300 Main Winnipeg, the city’s tallest residential tower, to test access to water due to the height of the building.

“In many of these cases, it’s a question of familiarization (with the building layouts) and creating those plans of how we either going to shelter or evacuate people when these situations arise,” he said.

High-rises are built to high standards with fire-resistant materials, fire and smoke alarms and evacuation systems to help keep people safe and help them get out, he said.

“They’re typically very safe buildings, but the volume of people… does create a lot of challenges, and for our firefighters, it’s the workload, it’s the physical demand and the logistics of getting the amount of resources and equipment to the fire floor,” he said.

WFPS also use drones to help get a look at fires in tall buildings from above. The service’s ladder trucks reach only to about eight storeys, depending on where the vehicles are positioned.

Wilkinson said civilian drone operators must steer clear of fire scenes, as it can interfere with the work of crews.

Flying unsanctioned drones — as one civilian operator did during the Thursday fire — near such incidents is illegal under Transport Canada regulations.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca