2 women die after house fire in Winnipeg’s West End

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Two women are dead after they were taken to hospital in critical condition from a house fire in Winnipeg’s West End on Saturday morning.

Firefighters were called to a fire at a home on Agnes Street, between St. Matthews and Ellice avenues, just before 10 a.m. 

City officials said on Saturday that the cause of the fire, which caused significant damage to the home, is under investigation. Police said the major crimes unit assumed the investigation.

Seven people were assessed by paramedics, and three of them were taken in critical condition to hospital, city officials said on Saturday. Two others were hospitalized in stable condition.

An 18-year-old woman and a 48-year-old woman who were taken in critical condition have since died, Winnipeg police said in a news release Sunday afternoon.

The other person who was in critical condition has since been upgraded to stable condition, police said.

Samantha Nykoluk, who lives across the street, said she immediately thought of her neighbours when she woke up to see the house in flames on Saturday morning. 

When she opened her door to get a closer look, she said she heard people yelling “help me” and saw a person trapped by the upstairs window. 

“I wanted to run into the building myself,” Nykoluk said.

Samantha Nykoluk lives down the street from an Agnes Street home that was the scene of a deadly fire on Saturday. (Rudi Pawlychyn/CBC)

She started gathering warm jackets to bring over to her neighbours who were able to escape the house and shelter next door, she said. When she got there, she said she saw a man who was badly burned. 

“Just makes me shake thinking about it,” she said of the deadly fire.

Nykoluk said she struggled to sleep Saturday night, and was tossing and turning. She said she was worrying about her neighbours and the support they will need moving forward.

Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service Platoon Chief Doug Grieve said firefighters “risk a lot to save a lot.”

“Our firefighters, their No. 1 priority is life safety and they’ll go above and beyond to make that effort,” Grieve said.

Nick Kasper, president of the United Firefighters of Winnipeg, said the fatal Agnes Street fire is the second deadly blaze in the city in just over a month. 

Local comedian Clayton Stewart died after a house fire in Winnipeg’s Lord Roberts neighbourhood in late December. Three others were taken to hospital following that Nassau Street home fire. 

“Any time we see a loss of property, and especially a loss of life, those losses are devastating and weigh heavily not only on the community, but on the firefighters who respond to those calls,” Kasper said. 

He said Saturday’s fire was a “devastating incident” and a “solemn reminder” that fire can strike anywhere and at any time. 

“On behalf of all Winnipeg firefighters, our thoughts are with those impacted by this tragedy, the family who lost loved ones and those who were injured,” Kasper said.  

Anyone with information about the fire is asked to contact police at 204-986-6219 or anonymously via Crime Stoppers at 204-786-TIPS or winnipegcrimestoppers.org.