Witness tip leads to arson suspect’s arrest in Point Douglas warehouse blaze

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This article was published 29/09/2021 (1220 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A 21-year-old woman is accused of lighting a fire at a Point Douglas warehouse Tuesday, which was fuelled by chemicals and so intense that lights and decals on fire trucks melted.

Two firefighters were hurt as they fought the flames at Gateway Industries at 2 Point Douglas Ave., south of the Louise Bridge, which was called in Tuesday morning.

While officers controlled traffic on Higgins Avenue, a witness gave a description of the suspect and said she appeared to be headed over the bridge.

Winnipeg Police Service Const. Dani McKinnon said the witness followed the suspect for a short period. Soon after, officers took the suspect into custody in Elmwood, across the bridge.

Firefighters were called to the warehouse just before 11:30 a.m. as heavy smoke and flames poured out of the building. Crews were expected to remain at the scene throughout most of Wednesday to extinguish hot spots. Thirty-three emergency vehicles and around 100 firefighters had battled the blaze on Tuesday.

About 10 nearby homes were evacuated, but no residents were injured. As of Wednesday morning, the residents were still out of their homes. Embers ignited a stationary rail car that was carrying railroad ties.

One firefighter was taken to hospital in stable condition Tuesday afternoon and another was hurt overnight and treated at the scene.

Derek Balcaen felt the massive blaze’s heat from hundreds of feet away.

The firefighter, who’s also a spokesman for the United Fire Fighters of Winnipeg, said the scene could be described as hellish. It sends chills down his spine to think it was sparked by arson, he said.

“As dangerous as a regular fire is, when we know that arson is involved, that just takes it to the next level,” he said. “More often than not, there’s booby traps set in these (places). We don’t know what we’re going into.”

First responders did an initial search inside the warehouse Tuesday, Balcaen said. When they determined the site was mostly vacant, they took up positions outside: the roof had collapsed, and the situation was too dangerous for an indoor attack.

“The radiant heat is something that’s nearly impossible to explain,” Balcaen said. “We had some trucks that were dealing with melting decals and lights… so when you’ve got trees and homes that are so close by, that just complicates an already complicated and dicey situation.”

That’s on top of the record high temperature of 29 C in Winnipeg Tuesday, Balcaen said.

Crews evacuated nearby residents early on, outside the zone of thick smoke. Balcaen didn’t know what was inside the warehouse to cause the black plumes.

“It was certainly many chemicals,” he said. “There were many explosions going on during the day.”

Asked what caused the plumes of black smoke which could be seen across the city, Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service asst. chief Jamie Vanderhorst said: “If there was any machinery or anything inside, I can’t confirm that… because firefighters remained on the outside.”

No damage estimate is available, but the building is a total loss. The fire investigations unit is still working to determine what exactly was lit ablaze.

Vanderhorst said the building was scheduled for a bylaw inspection within the next three months, and that the fire alarm systems were active, but could not say whether any sprinklers were activated as crews have not been able to enter the warehouse.

Sheldon Blank, manager of soap manufacturer Gateway Industries, said he was in an adjacent building when the 25,000-square-foot storage facility caught fire.

“We only saw the fire when we saw the black smoke,” said Blank, who purchased the building in 1984.

“That section of the building will be a total loss. Everything has come to a stop. We can’t do anything. There’s nothing here to salvage.”

Kelsey Ann Thompson, 21, is charged with arson causing damage to property and two counts of mischief under $5,000.

The mischief charges are related to other property damage in the area, including to at least one vehicle, McKinnon said.

Thompson doesn’t have a criminal record, but is pending on charges of housebreak and enter in July 2020 and failing to attend court in July, court records show.

 

— with files from Dean Pritchard

 

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

gabrielle.piche@freepress.mb.ca