Thompson Fire & Emergency Services (TFES) crews closed out 2017 and opened up 2018 in similar fashion – battling blazes in multi-unit buildings.
The second of those fires, which destroyed the Interior Inn Jan. 1, was reported to the fire department about 10 minutes before 4 p.m., said Thompson Fire Chief John Maskerine, with a second alarm for more personnel coming in about 15 minutes later and a third alarm about 30 minutes after that, at which point it was all hands on deck.
The fire started in the back of the building on the corner of Thompson and Riverside drives.
"It went up one of the back windows on one of the suites and jumped right into the second window and then when it got into the vinyl siding it just went straight up the building underneath the soffits and got into the attic and with a steel-clad roof there was no way we could get at it other than just keep pouring water at it," said Maskerine. "Our crews had gone in twice and got pushed back out again on account of heavy heat so by that time, when our crews can't get in, you've got to take it from an interior attack to an exterior attack and take it from the outside."
The cause of the fire, which was burning for hours after firefighters arrived, is unknown as of yet.
"The Office of the Fire Commissioner is on the way up as we speak and when they get up our team will get in if it's safe to do so and we'll do an investigation on it," he said. Thompson RCMP are also investigating.
Firefighters were still on the scene as of Jan. 2.
"We'll be there all day today," said Maskerine, who told CTV News that all the guests had been accounted for and that firefighters had removed one person from a room, who was taken to Thompson General Hospital and treated for smoke inhalation.
At the conclusion of the Jan. 2 council meeting, Mayor Dennis Fenske expressed his concern for the people affected by the fire and the emergency personnel who responded to it.
"I would like to, on behalf of Thompson, offer thoughts and prayers to the owners and the guests that were affected by the fire least evening and today at the Interior Inn and the loss of that building and its contents," he said. "I congratulate and commend the response of our firefighters and paramedics, the RCMP, the volunteer firefighters and Vale's fire department."
During the general inquiries earlier in the meeting, Chiew Chong asked deputy mayor Colleen Smook, who was chairing the meeting with Fenske participating by phone from Winnipeg, why efforts had not been made to drain water that had collected on Riverside Drive as a result of the firefighting response.
"It looks like a river running down there so how come I didn't see any public works people down there trying to clean up the drain hole and let the water go down the drain?" he asked.
"There are some fire hose that are buried in some of the sections across there so you can't take the equipment and the second part of that is today we had a major water break on Berens Road," said Smook. "Crews are actually still there working and the water was starting to run onto the highway so the equipment and crews were sent there. Tomorrow we're hoping to get there and hopefully get some of the hoses out of the ice."
Two days earlier, firefighters were on the scene of a fire in a third floor apartment at 45 Ashberry Place, where they were able to fight the fire from an interior position and limit damage to the suite where the fire occurred and the one below it. All the other residents of the building were able to return to their apartments after the fire was extinguished and Maskerine said investigation concluded that it was likely caused by discarded smoking materials. The residents of the damaged apartments found places to stay with families and friends.
