Winnipeg, MB – At 1:08 a.m. on Sunday, October 23, 2022, the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service responded to reports of a fire in a bi-level house in the 700 block of Pritchard Avenue.
When crews arrived, they found heavy smoke coming from the house. Two individuals had self-evacuated the house and bystanders reported one person remained trapped in the house.
Crews launched an offensive fire attack and began searching the house. The missing individual was located by firefighters, carried outside to waiting paramedics, and was transported to hospital in critical condition. Paramedics also assessed the two residents who self-evacuated the home and transported one of them to hospital in stable condition.
The fire was declared under control at 1:44 a.m.
Crews rescued two cats from the home. Four additional cats were located deceased in the house.
Damage estimates are not available at this time. Preliminary observations suggest the fire was accidental, caused by the improper disposal of smoking materials. Residents are reminded of the following safety tips:
- Smoking material should always be extinguished in a proper ashtray or deep metal container.
- Wet cigarette butts and matches before putting them in a garbage container to prevent them from smouldering and starting a fire.
- Never smoke in bed, and avoid smoking while seated on couches or arm chairs – especially if you think you might fall asleep. Take extra care when you're tired, taking prescription drugs, or have been drinking alcohol.
- Keep matches and lighters out of children’s reach, and buy child resistant lighters.
- Cigarette butts should never be thrown from balconies, car windows, or disposed of near any vegetation such as grass, leaves or brush.
- Never use a plant pot as an ashtray. Potting soil is a mix of dirt and a number of combustible organic materials such as peat moss, shredded wood and minerals which are combustible. When a butt is put into a planter, it can smolder for several hours. Once the container heats up, it can crack, giving the smoldering material oxygen and the opportunity to spread to other combustibles such as decks, balconies, walls, etc.