'It was crazy': Smoke, water damage on several floors after high-rise roof fire in River-Osborne area
A still photo taken from video shot by an aerial drone shows firefighters tackling a fire on the roof of a high-rise apartment building at 221 Stradbrook Ave. Thursday night. (Tameem Safi/Submitted)Antora Debnath and her partner were about to lie down for a nap when 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 service responded to the blaze just after 7 p.m. at 221 Stradbrook Ave., a two-year-old residential building near the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers."It was crazy," Debnath said. "Everyone was like in panic."Winnipeg police said the fire was under control at about 7:20 p.m.One person was sent to hospital in unstable condition for smoke inhalation, the deputy chief of the
Antora Debnath and her partner were about to lie down for a nap when 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 service responded to the blaze just after 7 p.m. at 221 Stradbrook Ave., a two-year-old residential building near the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers.
"It was crazy," Debnath said. "Everyone was like in panic."
Winnipeg police said the fire was under control at about 7:20 p.m.
One person was sent to hospital in unstable condition for smoke inhalation, the deputy chief of the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service said. A news release from the city later said a firefighter was also taken to hospital in stable condition.
WATCH | Aerial drone shows blaze on roof of high-rise:
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 checking to 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," Giesbrecht said.
Maja Crawley, who lives in a building nearby, had just stepped out to walk her dog when 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 chief Scott 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 way down 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."
Residents will be allowed back into the building when it's safe, Wilkinson added.
In the meantime, Debnath said she'll have to stay at a friend's home for the night.
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