Industrial building gutted in summer goes up in flames again

It was a busy weekend for Winnipeg fire crews as they battled a pair of fires in the city's North End. 

The first fire broke out Saturday, just before 7 p.m. in a one-and-a-half-storey, single-family house in the 500 block of Stella Avenue.

Smoke and flames were pouring out of the home when crews arrived. It took crews over an hour and a half to get it under control. 

All occupants of the house safely self-evacuated before crews arrived at the scene. No injuries were reported.

The following day, just before 10 a.m., firefighters were called to a large, vacant industrial building on Sutherland Avenue between Maple Street North and Argyle Street North.

The building was previously gutted by a fire on July 4, 2023. At that time, WFPS deemed the building to be a complete loss due to extreme fire, smoke, and water damage that left it partially collapsed. Sections of the building were demolished in that incident to assist firefighters in accessing hotspots to extinguish the fire. Additional damage has occurred due to several fires since then.

When firefighters arrived, heavy smoke and flames were coming from a part of the building. It took them just over an hour to get it under control. 

Crews remained on scene through the night, putting out hotspots. 

No one was injured. 

The cause of both fires remains under investigation.