Two people have died in a Point Douglas house fire early Friday morning, with two more taken to hospital.
Officials have not yet identified the two victims.
“It’s my understanding that they haven’t been formally identified. We’ve all seen what happens when agencies or police agencies rush to that identification. So we need to take our time,” Cst. Jay Murray of the Winnipeg police said.
Neighbours at the scene of the fire told Global News a grandmother and an 11-year-old girl did not make it out of the house.
“The kids were staying with grandma that night,” Shauna Gosek said. “I’m hurting for that mom right now. She lived across the street. She was standing there watching. That’s hard. Watching and feeling so helpless and not being able to do anything to save your own child or your mother.”
WATCH: Winnipeg police not identifying deceased in Point Douglas fire
A 64-year-old woman and a 17-year-old boy remain in hospital.
“One of them jumped out,” said neighbour Debbie Courchene. “All of our neighbours (were) trying to find a way to get in, breaking windows trying to get them out. The whole community was really, trying to help with the rescue.”
WATCH: Two dead following early morning house fire in Point Douglas
Cst. Murray said investigators are looking into whether or not the fire may have been arson.
“So, about two hours after that house fire, several small and minor fires were set in the Point Douglas area a little more to the west. We currently do have a person of interest in custody for those small fires, however it’d be premature to identify them as a suspect,” Murray said.
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“At this time there’s no link between those fires and the Prince Edward Street one.”
According to crews, the two-storey house in the 100 block of Prince Edward Street was completely engulfed in flames on all levels of the building.
Assistant Chief of Fire Rescue Operations, Ihor Holowczynsky said the fire was so intense, crews were unable to enter.
“We did an inspection off the ladder, to protect our crews,” he said. “We’re not yet entering the structure at this point, but from the exterior, we were able to confirm the fatalities.
“The structure was fully involved. It was showing fire out of every window and door, so it was impossible to enter.”
Holowczynsky said crews were able to adopt a defensive strategy to mitigate the blaze.
WATCH: Eye-witness video footage shows flames tearing through the house
PHOTOS: view images taken at the scene
-With files from Abigail Turner
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