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Winnipeg fire crews battle blaze at vacant Portage Avenue building

Fire crews on scene on Portage Avenue Sunday morning. Corey Callaghan/Global News

An early morning fire at a building under renovation on Portage Avenue East kept Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service crews busy Sunday morning.

Firefighters got the call just after 2:30 a.m. to reports of flames and smoke coming from a building at 138 Portage Ave.

Most of the fire was burning on the roof and in the upper floors of the building once crews got to the scene. The roof partially collapsed, sending fire and smoke down an elevator shaft.

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The blaze was too dangerous for firefighters to enter. Instead, crews attacked it from the exterior.

The seven-storey building, which is next door to the Nutty Club building, was built in 1909.

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Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service Platoon Chief Alden Darragh says three ladder trucks were on scene by mid Sunday morning and crews had the blaze contained to the roof and top floors. The fire was extinguished mid-day.

No one was injured in the fire, says Jason Shaw, assistant chief of the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service.

The cause is not yet known, nor is a damage estimate available.

The large police and fire presence resulted in street closures in the area, including Westbrook Street, Pioneer Avenue and Portage Avenue.

 

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