Firefighters hosed down a retail store in a Winnipeg industrial neighbourhood on Monday to protect it as a three-storey warehouse burned just behind it.
Crews were called just after 4 a.m. to the warehouse on Logan Avenue, about midway between Arlington and McPhillips streets, Platoon Chief Doug Grieve said.
Heavy smoke was flowing from all sides of the boarded-up brick warehouse and flames were lapping at one side, he said.
It wasn’t safe to enter, so firefighters opened sections where they could spray water from the exterior, Grieve said.
“Seems like we’re getting a handle on the fire now,” he said around 7 a.m. “I anticipate crews will be here probably till the noon hour.”
Attached to the warehouse through an enclosed hallway is G&L Sales, a discount department store that sells everything from furniture and food to clothing, tools, toys and housewares.
“We managed to segregate and save that retail space,” Grieve said.
The company stored some stock in the warehouse that burned.
People in the area should be cautious about the smoke in the air. Anyone with respiratory distress should stay indoors until that clears, Grieve said.
Businesses and residents in the neighbourhood have been through this before. The property is next door to Anco Lumber, which was destroyed by a fire last August.
Grieve said it will be some time before the cause of the fire can be determined.
The blaze was one of many that crews were called to around the city overnight, he said.
“They’re exhausted. We had five fires last night in the city, so it was a challenging, busy night.”
Some fires were in vacant buildings, one was in a body shop on Erin Street, and another in a shed at the back of Blue Cross Park, where the Goldeyes baseball club plays.
“All these fires are under investigation,” Grieve said.