Neighbours use ladder to rescue person from burning Winnipeg home, city says

A pair of quick-thinking Winnipeggers sprang into action Sunday afternoon to save a neighbour from the second story of a burning home, the city says.

Calls about a fire in the 1500 block of Alexander Avenue began coming in at 1:19 p.m.

Crews were met with heavy black smoke when they arrived and were forced to retreat to safety after initially attempting to attack the blaze from inside the home.

Once conditions improved, they were able to re-enter the building and bring the situation under control at around 3:00 p.m.

Neighbouring homes were briefly evacuated as a precaution.

The city says there were two people inside the house when the fire broke out.

One was able to escape the building on their own, while the other was rescued from an upper-floor window by two neighbours using a ladder before crews arrived, according to the city.

Both were assessed at the scene by paramedics and brought to hospital in stable condition. No other injuries were reported.

The cause of the blaze is under investigation, and no damage estimates were available.