City police have launched a homicide investigation after a fire ripped through a building in the St. John’s neighbourhood over the weekend, killing two people and injuring others.
Details released by the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service on Saturday indicated three people were hospitalized after a fire broke out within a three-storey mixed-use building on the 200 block of Atlantic Avenue.
The Winnipeg Police Service announced Sunday afternoon that two of the victims died. They have been identified as 49-year-old Geda Wodisso and 38-year-old Zenabu Gula.
Two people were killed in a suspicious fire in the 200 block of Atlantic Avenue in the early morning hours of Saturday. (Kevin Rollason / Free Press)
Firefighters were called to the building shortly before 3 a.m., arriving to find heavy smoke and flames engulfing the structure. Crews initially fought the flames from inside, but as the situation worsened, they withdrew and used an aerial ladder to extinguish the fire. A drone was also sent up to help find hot spots, the WFPS said.
Police said firefighters found Wodisso and Gula inside one of the suites and provided them with emergency care before they were taken to hospital.
Two other people were treated for smoke inhalation, police said.
A nearby building was also evacuated as a precaution, and a Winnipeg Transit bus provided shelter. Emergency Social Services assisted displaced residents in finding temporary housing, while Manitoba Hydro shut off gas and power to several buildings, leaving some without electricity on Saturday morning, WFPS said.
The fire is suspicious and the homicide unit is now investigating, police said.
No arrests have been made.
Anyone with information regarding the incident, including video surveillance, is asked to contact investigators at 204-986-6508 or anonymously at Crime Stoppers 204-786-8477 (TIPS) or winnipegcrimestoppers.org.
tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca
Tyler Searle
Reporter
Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press‘s city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic’s creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022. Read more about Tyler.
Every piece of reporting Tyler produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.