The city is crediting a newly opened fire station in Waverley West for preventing a blaze from spreading Saturday in the Bridgewater neighborhood.
At around 11:45 a.m. a fire broke out in a single-family bungalow on Yorkvalley Way.
The fire is believed to have originated in a vehicle located inside the home’s attached garage.
Due to a quick response from the new WFPS Station in Waverley West, crews were able to get the fire under control quickly and prevent the fire from spreading to the rest of the home.
Damages were primarily contained to the vehicle involved.
All occupants were able to evacuate before crews arrived. No injuries were reported.
Preliminary observations suggest the fire was accidental, involving a plugged-in block heater.
The WFPS is reminding residents to take precautions to prevent these types of fires, including not plugging in your vehicle inside an attached or detached garage, checking your block heater and extension cords for frays, cracks or damage before you plug in your vehicle outdoors, replacing extension ccords if you’ve accidently driven away with it still plugged in to the outlet, not overloadimg extension cords or using them as a substitute for permanent wiring and not running an electrical/extension cord through walls, doorways, ceilings, floors or under rugs or mats.
A second fire a few hours later just south of the city is also believed to involve a block heater.
WFPS crews were dispatched for reports of a fire in a two-storey, single-family home on Four Mile Road.
Flames and smoke were coming from an attached garage when crews arrived.
Water tankers were used to shuttle water to the scene as the fire was outside the City of Winnipeg water district. The fire was declared under control at 5:22 p.m. Damages were primarily contained to the garage.
No injuries were reported.