Church fire has community activist sounding alarm on arson, public safety

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Point Douglas community advocate Sel Burrows admits he’s sad to see the latest fire to strike a neighbourhood Greek Orthodox church which has congregants considering closing their doors for good.

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However, he hopes it leads to calls for more action on arson not just in his community but in many other parts of the inner city.

“The issue is bigger than just the fire in the church but we’re hoping that people will see the importance of a small church like this to a community and maybe demand more action on preventing arson,” said Burrows, the head of a grassroots community organization, Point Powerline Inc.

Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service crews responded to a blaze Tuesday afternoon inside the Holy Ascension Greek Orthodox Church building on Euclid Avenue, which caused significant damage.

The church also had previous water and heat damage from fires at a nearby building on Main Street in 2021 and 2023.

While the cause of the fire remains under investigation, it is believed to have started after someone broke into the church — the latest in a series of similar incidents. A church official told CBC News that the church has been broken into seven times this past year — five times in the last week alone.

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Last Saturday, the church was broken into and a small fire was started, she said.

This latest fire has the congregation considering what to do next considering that there may not be enough money to repair the damage.

“It’s been there forever,” said Burrows. “All the people in Point Douglas drive by it as they enter the community. They see it as one of those positive places but the congregation has dropped off hugely. I don’t think there are any members of the congregation still living in the community. But it’s one of those things that made people feel good. ‘Hey, there’s that little church. Isn’t it neat that we still have that in the community.’ ”

But it is not just a Point Douglas concern. Arson is a problem across the North End and West End and other parts of the city, creating a safety hazard and making an affordable housing crisis even worse.

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“It’s more than Point Douglas,” said Burrows. “It’s the entire inner city. We have so many issues but the issue of arson and the destruction of both good housing and historic buildings and retail businesses. It’s horrible and it’s certainly very crappy inner city redevelopment.”

Until about a decade ago, Winnipeg had an Arson Strike Force comprised of investigators from fire, police and the Manitoba Office of the Fire Commissioner working together to determine how a blaze started and who committed the crime. Burrows would like to see the Arson Strike Force brought back.

“This fire is just one of many and the community is just so concerned about the number of arsons,” said Burrows. “We learned recently … that the police closure rate on arson is 8%.

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“One of the things that not just me – but inner city people (as well) – are calling for is to get some form of coordination between fire, police and fire commissioner working on this issue of arson because we suspect that there are arsonists out there setting some of these fires. We also know that some of them are being set by ‘precariously-housed’ people who are looking for places to stay.”

A WFPS spokesperson said that while the Arson Strike Force was disbanded approximately 10 years ago, the WFPS Fire Investigations Branch works collaboratively with WPS investigators on a daily basis. The WFPS operates a comprehensive Fire Investigations program with certified Fire Investigators on duty 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Last year, they were involved in over 600 structure fire investigations.

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“As Winnipeg experiences more fires than comparator cities, the WFPS recognizes the need for specialized equipment, resources and training,” the spokesperson said in an email. “The Service recently added an Accelerant Detection K9 to the team. The K9 will provide many significant advantages to our existing Fire Investigations Branch, providing advanced detection, public education and arson deterrence.

“We continue to explore options to enhance our work with WPS to focus on the arson issue and remain open to more formal options for collaboration that may enhance these efforts.”

WFPS’ Accelerant Detection K9 was deployed to assist fire investigators at the scene of the Holy Ascension Greek Orthodox Church fire.

“We can’t afford to lose more houses,” said Burrows. “People are calling for more social housing yet some of the houses that are burning – not necessarily in Point Douglas but in the North End and West End as well – are lower rent houses. And we desperately need to find ways to get those houses back on the market quickly and have fewer low-cost housing burnt.”

glen.dawkins@kleinmedia.ca

X: @SunGlenDawkins

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