Point Douglas fire probed as arson

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This article was published 07/07/2023 (1040 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It came as no surprise to Point Douglas residents that Winnipeg police are investigating Tuesday’s massive fire, which destroyed an industrial building connected to the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike, as an arson.

“It disappoints me that people go around torching these buildings. We just kind of speculated it’s arson,” said Katherine Bitney, a member of the Point Douglas Residents Association, on Friday.

“Arson is not something we go, ‘Oh my God, how could that happen here?’ in my neighbourhood.”

Dozens of firefighters battled the inferno at Sutherland Avenue and Maple Street North on Tuesday and into Wednesday, which led to the evacuation of nearby homes and health concerns about toxic smoke.

Firefighters were called to the scene at about 5 a.m. Tuesday and crews have remained on scene all week while investigating and monitoring for flare-ups.

Police spokesman Const. Claude Chancy said the major crimes unit is investigating the fire as arson.

“Anecdotally, whenever there is a fire and the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service attends, if it’s deemed as being suspicious, their fire investigator will forward that to the Winnipeg Police Service, who will investigate that as an arson,” said Chancy.

The industrial site is the size of about one city block, meaning there is a much larger area to search compared with other arson investigations.

“This size and the perimeter that need to be investigated make it a little bit more of a challenge for investigators,” said Chancy.

The blaze left a charred shell and heaps of twisted metal and debris.

The site, which had connected buildings, contained chemicals, vehicles, propane tanks, tires and other concerns for firefighters. A number of explosions were reported while the fire raged.

The WFPS had said no one was inside the building when the first crews arrived on scene. No injuries were reported.

Community activist Sel Burrows said residents had suspected it was arson.

“We knew it was because we knew the five others on Main Street were all arson,” Burrows said.

“Those five buildings on Main Street were all occupied and they were all arson. Now we have a vacant building, but the issue isn’t that it was vacant. The issue is arson.

“What is happening in our community where people think they can burn buildings down?”

Bitney said she was sad about what could have been done at the site long before the fire.

“It was one of the primary locations where the 1919 strike got going,” she said.

“That’s labour history. We ask ourselves why it hadn’t been bought up, renovated, and turned into a labour museum? That really was an important building.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca