Fire crew battles conditions, large blaze

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Plumes of smoke drifted over downtown Winnipeg on Wednesday as members of the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service (WFPS) fought a two-storey fire in a mixed-use building on the northeast corner of Portage Avenue and Langside Street – the Kirkland Block Building.

A section of Portage Avenue had to be closed in both directions.

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When crews arrived at the scene, they found a large fire with heavy smoke and flames coming from the structure. A defensive attack was launched as it wasn’t safe for crews to enter. Several neighbouring buildings were temporarily evacuated as a precaution.

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Scott Wilkinson, assistant chief of the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service told the Winnipeg Sun the fire was particularly challenging due to the -23C temperature. Crews were rotated on- and off-site. Also, there was a problem with equipment icing up. The cause of the fire is unknown and there were no civilian injuries.

“We are struggling right now, and our crews are working really hard in freezing conditions,” said Wilkinson as crews were battling the flames at noon hour on Wednesday. “We are having apparatus freezing up and are having to rotate crews frequently due to the conditions. We have another working fire on Pritchard Avenue right now, which is stretching resources, but our communications team is doing great redeploying our apparatus and crews around the city.”

When asked about the large number of recent structure fires in Winnipeg, Wilkinson said, “We’ve had a bit of a run lately. Overall, our fire numbers are consistent with other years. The challenge right now is the freezing conditions and keeping our crews warm and safe and rotating them in and out. That’s our biggest focus.”

As of a 5 p.m. WFPS press release, crews continued to fight the fire from the exterior of the building using aerial ladders and hose streams. Efforts to protect the neighbouring building were also ongoing. One firefighter sustained an injury because of a slip and fall at the scene. They were assessed by paramedics but did not require transport to hospital.

Damage estimates are not available, but the building is considered structurally unsafe and will be a complete loss. Heavy equipment will be working at the scene to assist with fire extinguishment and demolition.

Portage Avenue between St. Mary Avenue and Sherbrook Street remained closed to traffic in both directions as of late Wednesday afternoon.

jsnell@postemedia.com

Twitter @JamesWestgateSn