Five injured in Furby Street apartment fire

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This article was published 11/02/2024 (573 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two people are critically injured and three others are in unstable condition after residents became trapped inside a burning West Broadway apartment building early Sunday morning.

The blaze began around 3:20 a.m., with crews arriving to a five-storey apartment building in the 0-100 block of Furby Street to find plumes of smoke and flames billowing from the structure, the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service said in a news release.

Firefighters learned multiple residents may have been trapped in their suites. Crews began attacking the fire from the inside as they worked to free the tenants. Multiple people were rescued from outside of the building using aerial ladder trucks, WFPS said.

On-scene paramedics assessed and transported the five injured people to the hospital.

Residents were unable to return to the building due to smoke, fire and water damage.

The City of Winnipeg deployed a Winnipeg Transit bus and emergency social services team to help provide temporary accommodation for displaced residents.

Out of approximataly 40 tenants, 30 people said they needed assistance from the city, WFPS said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation and damage estimates are not available.

On Saturday, fire crews responded to a seperate blaze in a vacant bungalow in the 600 block of Aberdeen Avenue.

WFPS received reports of the fire around 4:37 p.m. and found smoke coming from the house, it said.

Crews moved inside to battle the blaze, while also working to protect neighbouring houses from spreading flames. Firefighter declared the fire under control around 5:28 p.m. and a subsequent search of the home confirmed it was vacant, WFPS said.

No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation and damage estimates are not available.