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The owner of a Transcona-area industrial yard is suing the City of Winnipeg and the Rural Municipality of Springfield, alleging firefighters failed to properly fight a blaze that destroyed hundreds of vehicles and left the property contaminated with toxic materials.
In a statement of claim filed in Manitoba’s Court of King’s Bench on Feb. 27, a company identified as 10104753 Manitoba Ltd. alleges the response to a grass fire that spread to its property on Gunn Road in May was negligent and resulted in extensive financial losses.
The company owns a yard used to store vehicles at 568 Gunn Rd., known as Oluspe Autos and Parts. It’s just within Winnipeg, with the RM of Springfield on the other side of the road.
A fire broke out near the property on May 12 before spreading onto the site and engulfing vehicles stored there, the lawsuit says.
“The fire burnt with such vigour as to melt much of the vehicles down to their chassis,” the claim says.
“All of the motor vehicles on the property were completely destroyed, melted and/or burnt to the ground.”
Dozens of vehicles in the yard of Oluspe Autos and Parts were destroyed. (Meaghan Ketcheson/CBC)
Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service crews responded to the fire and called for additional help from the RM of Springfield’s fire service due to limited water supply, the lawsuit says.
The company alleges firefighters made a negligent decision to focus on containing the fire to protect nearby properties rather than attempting to extinguish burning vehicles.
The City of Winnipeg and the RM of Springfield failed to provide firefighting services “in a reasonable fashion” and in line with the standards expected of a competent fire department, the lawsuit alleges.
It claims firefighters failed to properly assess the scene, develop an adequate fire attack plan or take reasonable steps to extinguish the blaze.
The company also claims the city was negligent in maintaining fire hydrant infrastructure and ensuring adequate water supply in the area.
Firefighting efforts were hindered by insufficient water supply from nearby hydrants, forcing crews to call in additional equipment from Springfield, the lawsuit claims.
As a result of the fire, hundreds of vehicles were destroyed and melted materials contaminated the soil on the property, the company says.
The damage has already resulted in more than $407,000 in costs tied to environmental assessments, cleanup work and restoring the property, the lawsuit says.
Those expenses include removing burned metal, plastic and other debris, as well as remediation work required to meet environmental standards.
The company has lost income while the property remains unusable during cleanup, the lawsuit says.
None of the allegations have been tested in court, and no statement of defence has been filed.
A lawyer representing the company declined to comment. The City of Winnipeg also declined to comment on the lawsuit.