No one was injured in a fire early Friday at the historic Royal Albert Arms hotel in Winnipeg’s Exchange District.
Matthew Archer, who lives in the building, said he and another resident were able to help a neighbour and her pets get away from the flames before making it out themselves.
“She had a dog and a cat that live in the room with her, so I was immediately panicking for the animals — I don’t want to see nobody die,” Archer told Global Winnipeg.
“The fire alarm was going off, and as soon as you opened up the door, there was smoke and all that. … I started immediately helping my neighbours, getting fire extinguishers and trying to put the fire out until proper help arrived.
“I started yelling, ‘it’s a fire, it’s a fire,’ to try to get people up and out of the building before things got worse.”
Fire crews arrived at the 110-year-old hotel around 2:40 a.m. Multiple fire trucks were at the scene.
The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service said the fire was under control within a half-hour, as the building’s sprinkler systems were activated. The cause of the fire is under investigation and no damage estimates were available as of Friday morning.