Blaze on Austin Street sends Winnipeg firefighter to hospital

A fire on Austin Street in Point Douglas has sent a firefighter to hospital with injuries.

District Fire Chief Gordon Cannell told Global News that firefighters arrived early Monday around 2 a.m. to find the house “fully involved” and a person trapped on the third floor.

That person was rescued, but a firefighter was burned in the process, which Cannell called “minor.”

“The people that did self-evacuate did not remain on scene,” said Cannell, adding police tried to “corral them up” but weren’t able to. The person who was rescued refused medical treatment.

The house itself is a total write-off, said Cannell, adding the third floor has already collapsed into the second floor.

Cannell said it was the third major fire in two days, including one in south Winnipeg earlier Monday morning and one on Sherbrook Avenue Sunday.

The Sherbook fire was an abandoned four-storey apartment, said Cannell.

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The situations were exacerbated by the hot weather and high humidity, he added.

“It’s tough on the crews,” he said.

“You have to remember to keep their tasks to a minimum, one tank and then they’re relieved, then bring another crew. So that taxes the rest of the city when you have two incidents going on at the same time.”

-With files from Abigail Turner