News briefs for Thursday, August 20, 2026

Firefighters battle blaze in vacant Winnipeg home

9:25 AM

Northbound Disraeli Freeway is partially blocked while firefighters battle a blaze in a boarded-up vacant house in Point Douglas.

The city’s transportation management centre said northbound Disraeli is reduced to one lane (the median lane) at Lily Street, just east of Main Street.

The two-storey house is located at Disraeli and Argyle Street.

In a Facebook post, Nick Kasper, president of United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg, shared videos and photos of the home’s roof and top floor engulfed in flames while crews sprayed water from outside the building.

“Winnipeg fire crews from last night’s shift are working overtime this morning to extinguish a well-involved fire in a vacant home,” Kasper wrote. “Initial-arriving crews attempted an aggressive interior attack but were forced to withdraw due to deteriorating and unsafe building conditions.”

Kasper asked drivers to use caution and slow down while passing firefighters and vehicles at the scene.

“Please watch for firefighters, apparatus and other emergency personnel in the area,” he wrote.

A Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service spokesperson said crews were called to the scene shortly after 6 a.m.

“Due to heavy fire conditions, crews were unable to enter the structure. They are fighting the fire from the exterior,” the spokesperson wrote in an email shortly after 9:15 a.m.