Winnipeg firefighters were called to a fire at a high-rise apartment building in the River-Osborne area Thursday evening.
Large plumes of dark smoke could be seen billowing from the roof of the building at 221 Stradbrook.
Fire officials say one person was sent to hospital in unstable condition to be treated for smoke inhalation.
Deputy Chief Scott Wilkinson also says a few firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion after fighting the blaze on top of the 18-storey building.
“Our crews did a fantastic job of getting up. We did not have elevator access, so they had to (go up) the floors,” Deputy Chief Wilkinson said while speaking to reporters on scene Thursday evening.
“We were able to get to the top and get really good waterflow and initial attack on the fire and at that point, after a period of time, they were able to deem this fire under control.”
Wilkinson says the cause of the blaze is still under investigation and the roof and HVAC equipment did sustain significant damage.
“The fire damage is primarily confined to the roof structure of the building but we do have significant smoke and water damage descending numerous floors in the upper floors of the structure and water actually getting all the way down to the main floor,” he said.
“Most of the water is down the stairwell and elevator shafts, but it’s quite likely that some water damage will occur to the upper floors.”
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