Sherbrook Street fire injures 3, prompts building evacuation

WINNIPEG – Two people had to climb out a third-floor window and down a ladder to escape a Monday morning fire at a Sherbrook Street apartment block.

The fire in a building between Notre Dame and Ellice Avenue pushed residents out of their beds and into the snow at about 6:20 a.m.

The blaze broke out in a third-storey suite, trapping the two residents who escaped out the window. They were taken to hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation. A firefighter who injured his hand during the rescue was also taken to hospital.

Fire crews closed Sherbrook from Notre Dame to Ellice as they battled the blaze, but it reopened at around 7:45 a.m. Residents of the building were loaded into Winnipeg Transit buses to shelter them from the falling snow.

The blaze was under control shortly after 7 a.m. Fire officials are investigating the cause of the fire.