Industrial building spared from serious fire

The automatic sprinkler system inside a Winnipeg industrial building helped to prevent a serious fire Friday morning, containing the flames to a single room and away from dangerous chemicals.

Fire crews received a fire call to the commercial structure on the 1700 block of Inkster Boulevard shortly after 4 a.m. When they arrived, they found the sprinkler system had activated and contained the fire to the same room where it started, Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service said in a news release.

The WFPS HazMat team also responded because industrial cleaning chemicals were stored in the building, but further assessment confirmed they were not involved in the fire. Fire crews extinguished the flames within one hour, WFPS said.

All staff evacuated before firefighters arrived and nobody was injured. The building was ventilated after the blaze was extinguished, and employees returned to work.

The fire remains under investigation, but it is believed to be accidental, WFPS said.