Woman says she narrowly escaped apartment fire that displaced 54 people

A Winnipeg woman says she escaped an apartment fire late Tuesday afternoon with nothing but her two cats and the clothes on her back.

Fire crews responded to an automatic fire alarm at the three-storey apartment building on Toronto Street just south of the Health Sciences Centre around 4 p.m. There was heavy smoke coming from the building when they arrived.

Catherine Robichaudis one of 54 people looking for a new place to live after the fire gutted the building.

Shewas working from home when the fire broke out.

She didn't hear the fire alarm go off right away because of her headphones, but a co-worker could hearing a beeping noise in the background.

"I was like, 'Hold on a second,' so I went and looked and I saw smoke pouring out of the top part of the door next to my apartment and I heard the fire alarm."

Robichaudgrabbed her cats, keys and phone and got out of the building as quickly as she could.

Woman says she narrowly escaped apartment fire that displaced 54 people

7 months ago

Duration 1:41

A Winnipeg woman says she only got out of an apartment fire with her cats and the clothes on her back. Fire destroyed an apartment block on Toronto Street near Notre Dame yesterday afternoon. Catherine Robichaud lived on the top floor. She says she narrowly escaped the fire that displaced 54 people.

"I don't even have my jacket anymore. I have nothing. I lost everything in my home."

Flames had already spread to her bathroom as she was running out the door, she said.

"If I would have went back inside for my jacket, I wouldn't have made it out."

She's staying with her mom while she figures out what to do next.

Twenty residents of the block are staying in accommodations arranged by the city's emergency social services team.

All residents of the building got out safely and no injuries were reported, a city spokesperson said.

The apartment building is expected to be a total loss, as it was heavily damaged by fire, smoke and water, the city said Tuesday.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

The building was last inspected in January 2023 by the city's fire prevention team and there were no outstanding violations at that time, a city spokesperson said.

Winnipeg firefighters battle blaze in apartment block

7 months ago

Duration 0:40

CBC videographer Trevor Brine captures the scene from Winnipeg's Daniel McIntyre neighbourhood, where a fire in a three-storey apartment block sent flames and smoke billowing into the night sky Tuesday.