Investigators probe rubble for cause of fire that destroyed business block

A fire that lasted more than 30 hours isfinally out and now investigators aretrying to figure out what started it.

The fire,which began just after 3:15 p.m. Monday,destroyed a multi-business building onRoseberryStreet in Winnipeg's St. James area.

Crews fought it through the night Monday and all day Tuesday, finally clearing the scene at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to fire officials.

Thetwo-storey structure, which contained four businesses, is now little more than a rubble and ice sculpture.The torrent of water used to fight the flames has left itcoated in icicles.

Investigators will be on the scene Wednesday and possibly Thursday and Friday going through the wreckage to find the cause. Platoon Chief Bruce Melnyksaid Tuesday he believes the firestarted in 588 Roseberry,a printing business in one of the centre units of the block.

Fortunately, there were no injuries. Staff of the businesses hadevacuated the building by the time fire crews arrived, fire officials said.

The flamesand ice also damaged nearby hydropoles,power lines andtransformers, which cut electricitytoseveral Manitoba Hydro customers in the area.

Power was restored to a handful of them by Tuesday morning but others are still waiting.

Half Pints Brewing, at 550 Roseberry, was one of those impacted by the outage, which forced them to dispose of1,000 litres of an IPA that was being made.

The brewery thanked Manitoba Hydro for restoring power in time to re-brew the batch on Tuesday.

Hydro spokesman Bruce Owen said crews from the utility are on scene to repair and replacethe equipment that serves a half-dozen neighbouring buildings.

"There is significant ice around the site that will make repairs challenging," he said, noting three digger crews and two dump trucks with sand and gravel have been sent to the area.

"We have additional equipment on standby to assist with the excavation and ice removal efforts.We'll update with estimated restoration times later today once we know the extent of damage."