3 people taken to hospital in critical condition after fire in Winnipeg’s West End

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Five people were taken to hospital after a fire in Winnipeg’s West End on Saturday morning, including three in critical condition.

Firefighters were called to a fire at a home on Agnes Street, between St. Matthews and Ellice avenues, at 9:42 a.m., the city said in a news release. 

Crews found heavy flames and smoke when they arrived.

Seven people were assessed by paramedics at the scene, the city said. Three were taken to hospital in critical condition, while another two were hospitalized in stable condition. 

Two other people did not need to be taken to hospital, according to the release. 

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, city officials said. (Prabhjot Singh Lotey/CBC)

Firefighters also evacuated people inside the two neighbouring houses as a precaution. Displaced residents were given temporary shelter on a Winnipeg Transit bus, the city says.

The fire was declared under control just after 2:30 p.m.

Officials said the cause of the fire, which caused significant damage to the home, is under investigation. 

Five people were transported to hospital following a fire on Agnes Street in Winnipeg’s West End area on Saturday. (Gavin Axelrod/CBC)

Melissa O’Regan, who lives a few houses away, said she woke up on Saturday morning to crews attacking the fire with water while officials’ vehicles surrounded the block. 

She watched nervously as firefighters spent hours battling the blaze.

“It’s scary, because it could have been us,” she said. “If it [the fire] had jumped the back alley, it’s only one house in between us, basically.” 

O’Regan said she hopes her neighbours who were taken to hospital are OK.