'I don't know what to do next,' owner says after fire destroys North End business

A Winnipeg woman says she's not sure how she's going to make ends meet after the North End building that housed her cabinetry business was totally destroyed Tuesday night.

The fire started in an auto repair shop on Jarvis Avenue, just west of King Street, shortly after 8 p.m., and spread to the former Imperial Soap warehouse next to it. Crews were still fighting the blaze on Wednesday afternoon.

No injuries have been reported, but thetwo buildings sustained major damage and emergencydemolition is being planned, the City of Winnipeg said.

Rozan Sohihad rentedspace in the warehouse for her cabinetry businessfor the past two years.

"Now it's totally burnedout and we don't have insurance for that," she said Wednesday afternoon.

"I don't know what to do next."

She said she hasnot only lost her workspace, but also machines and much of her inventory.

"We have machines there. We have our stock there. It's a big loss."

'Epidemic' of fires

It's the latest in a series of fires at warehouses and vacant buildings in the area. Last Saturday, firefighters responded to the third fire within a year at the former Vulcan Iron Works building on Sutherland Avenue and Maple Street.

On Main Street a few blocks away, a huge pile of rubble is all that's left of three businesses following a major fire last February.

It's a troubling trend for Myron Schultz, who runs Lambskin Specialties, across the street from the Jarvis Avenue warehouse.

He called the string of fires an epidemic, fuelling negative perceptions of the neighbourhood.

"Any time you have fires and such, it leaves a bad taste in everybody's mouth and causes concerns that are in some cases warranted, in some cases unwarranted," he said.

Schultz said there are now several lots in the area that still haven't been cleaned up from recent fires, which creates safety issues and makes the neighborhood look unattractive.

"It leaves holes in the environment, and once that happens, it becomes a more of a self-fulfilling prophecy for an area, unless there is new development that springs up in the wake of whatever spaces are left open."

Crews wereexpected to remain throughout Wednesday, the city said in a news release.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Fire destroys North End business

8 months ago

Duration 2:11

A Winnipeg woman says she's not sure how she's going to make ends meet after the North End building that housed her cabinetry business was totally destroyed Tuesday night.