Winnipeg, MB – At 1:29 p.m. on Monday, August 14, 2023, the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service responded to a monitored alarm in a three-storey apartment building in the 200 block of Colony Street.
When crews arrived to the scene, they found smoke in the building. They fought the fire from inside the building, declaring the fire under control at 1:50 p.m. Damage was contained to the suite where the fire originated.
Occupants of the building safely self-evacuated. No injuries were reported.
Preliminary observations suggest the fire was caused by the improper disposal of a cigarette butt. Residents are reminded to follow these safety tips:
- Smoking material should always be extinguished in a proper ashtray or deep metal container.
- Cigarette butts should never be thrown from balconies, decks, 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.