Winnipeg, MB – At 12:16 a.m. on May 21, 2019, Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service crews responded to a report of a grass and brush fire in an open field near Plessis Road, east of the Symington Yards. The report was made by a Canadian National Railway (CNR) employee who could see the fire from the yards. Once on scene crews were escorted to the vicinity of the fire by CN Police members but found the area involved was inaccessible to WFPS apparatus.
The WFPS drone was deployed and helped crews determine the fire was approximately 90 metres wide but was not threatening any structures. A fire break was created and crews used specialized wildland-urban interface equipment to further scout the area and extinguish spot fires in harder-to-reach areas.
Damage was limited to a few hydro poles. No injuries occurred. The cause of the fire is not believed to be from rail traffic as the nearest track to the fire’s point of origin was approximately one kilometre.