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MORGAN MODJESKI \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
A window shows signs of fire damage at an apartment building at 166 River Avenue on Wednesday following a fire that took place in an apartment on Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything was full of smoke,\u201d said a tenant who didn\u2019t want her name published. \u201cIt was unbreathable. It was the longest time that it took me to get from my unit to the stairs.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said the suite where the fire took place was regularly the scene of fights and arguments that would spill out into the hall. On Tuesday morning, she said police responded to the suite and kicked in the door. After 6 p.m., she heard the fire alarm and when she looked out her door, she saw the apartment on fire.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw a woman with a background that was completely in flames and then she just turned and said: \u2018Oh my God.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The tenant said it seemed as though the woman was not in her right mind, saying after others evacuated, the woman was located 10 to 15 minutes later by fire crews and \u201cshe was not conscious.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said she watched as fire crews worked to revive the woman, who was taken to hospital.<\/p>\n
The Winnipeg Police Service did not respond to a request for comment. The WFPS said there were no updates in relation to the blaze.<\/p>\n
The woman said tenants are not allowed in the building and must find their own accommodation.<\/p>\n
Staying with her boyfriend, the tenant called the situation \u201cunfair\u201d as she feels had there been action on concerns she raised earlier, the fire may have been prevented.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe response has not been satisfactory at all,\u201d she said, claiming problems at the suite have been escalating for months.<\/p>\n
The Free Press reached out to Dawson Properties, which owns the building, but a response was not immediately received.<\/p>\n
Nick Kasper, president of the United Firefighters of Winnipeg, which represents firefighters, said Winnipeg is in the midst of a fire crisis, as the city has logged 13 fire-connected fatalities so far this year.<\/p>\n
He said the UFFW has been sounding the alarm over the lack of resources around education and prevention within the service, saying while he can\u2019t speak to this fire specifically, he said the people most impacted by fires in the city are Winnipeg\u2019s most vulnerable.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s tragic,\u201d he said, offering his thoughts to the person hurt. \u201cBut it\u2019s frustrating \u2026 what else needs to happen before governments take action?\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cWinnipeggers are dying,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
An interview request Tuesday was not accommodated, but in a previous interview, WFPS Deputy Chief Scott Wilkinson said the service is doing more work around education and prevention, but said many of these fires go beyond the WFPS and are rooted in societal issues that need government response.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe spend a lot of time with public education and fire prevention activities, but the significant majority of these fires that we\u2019re seeing so far this year \u2014 and in other years \u2014 are due to issues that are beyond normal fire prevention and education,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re often rooted in poverty, mental health issues and very commonly, they involve substance use and abuse for the cause of fires. That\u2019s where the real tragedy lies.\u201d<\/p>\n
morgan.modjeski@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n
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