'It was crazy': Smoke, water damage on several floors after highrise roof fire in River-Osborne area

Antora Debnathand her partner were about to lie down for a napwhen they saw plumes of smoke outside their apartment window.

"That's when we realized something was wrong," she said."We just got our pet and started rushing downstairs."

A fire on the roof of Debnath's apartment tower sent black smoke over an area just south of downtown Winnipeg Thursday night.

More than 20 units from the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic serviceresponded to the blaze just before 7 p.m.at 221 StradbrookAve., atwo-year-old residential building near the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers.

"It was crazy," Debnath said. "Everyone was like in panic."

WATCH | Aerial drone shows blaze on roof of highrise:

Aerial drone shows firefighters tackling Winnipeg highrise blaze

1 year ago

Duration 2:35

Video shot by an aerial drone shows Winnipeg firefighters battling a fire on the roof of a residential highrise at 221 Stradbrook Ave. on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. The drone was piloted by construction worker Tameem Safi, who was working on the street below when the fire started.

The fire was under control about 45 minutes later, with crews using the building's standpipe system to put out the fire, the city said in a Thursday night news release. Some residents were able to get outon their own, but firefighters helped some others evacuate the building, the city said.

One person was sent to hospital in unstable condition for smoke inhalation,the deputy chief of the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service said. A firefighter was also taken to hospital in stable condition, the news release said.

Tyler Giesbrecht, a bartender at the building's main floor restaurant, Parcel Pizza, said his shift was going on as usual when"all of the sudden the alarm went off."

After checkingto see if the fire was coming from the kitchen, he and other staff told the customers in the restaurant to leave the restaurant.

"It was just a bit of a shock to like see just like the flames and everything coming out of the building,"Giesbrechtsaid.

Maja Crawley, who lives in a building nearby, had just stepped out to walk her dogwhen she noticed the smoke.

"It was a lot darker than any house fire I've ever seen. It was like a black, black smoke. Every so often you would see like very tall flames kind of lick up the sky," she said.

Deputy fire chiefScott Wilkinson said the fire damage was confined mostly to the apartment's roof, but smoke and water also damaged several of the building's 18 floors.

Water running through the stairwell and elevator shafts made its waydown to the main floor lobby,Wilkinson added.

"It's a phenomenal amount of work. I just came down myself from 18 floors. I'm exhausted, and I wasn't carrying equipment like our crews," Wilkinson said.

The cause of the fire is being investigated. Wilkinson said the damage costs will be "significant."

The city's emergency social services team responded to help residents find temporary living accommodations, the city said in its news release.

Firefighters and the city's animal services agency are alsohelping residents get their pets and essential belongings from their homes.

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