Advertisement

Fire department to inspect more rooming houses in Winnipeg

A fire killed two people in July who lived in a rooming house on Austin. St. North. The fatal incident has raised questions about safety standards and living conditions in Winnipeg’s rooming houses. File / Josh Peterson / Submitted

WINNIPEG — The city is planning to do more inspections on rooming houses in Winnipeg.

A new report shows there is a plan to ensure licensed rooming houses – with shared bathrooms and kitchens – will be inspected every year by the fire department.

Breaking news from Canada and around the world sent to your email, as it happens.

The safety measure comes after a rooming house in Point Douglas went up in flames in July, killing two people. At the time of the fire, nine people were living in the house, along with 15 people who were inside. The house hadn’t been inspected since 2014.

READ MORE: Point Douglas community handing out flyers to prevent rooming house fires

The report doesn’t suggest annual inspections on “unlicensed” rooming houses, but said that a better system to report them is being worked out.

The city and firefighters’ union disagree on how many rooming houses there are in the city, putting the number between 645 and 814.

Advertisement

Sponsored content

AdChoices