Winnipeggers who escaped fire on Christmas morning now displaced with few belongings

Joanne Fontaineheard an alarm go off inside her downtown apartment around 2 a.m. on Christmas morning, but she thought nothing of it.

A second alarm went off closer to 4 a.m.,and that's when Fontainerealizedthat something was wrong."Something kept pushing me, like a bad feeling," Fontaine said Monday.

Winnipeg fire crews soon responded and began to battle the fireat the downtown-area Warwick Apartments, which sent six people to hospital, including three in critical condition.

Fontaine grabbed her coat and entered her hallway to see firefighters in action.

"They were just grabbing their hose, and, they're like, 'you've got to get out of the building,'" she said.

Christmas morning fire leaves dozens of Winnipeggers with few belongings

2 years ago

Duration 1:30

A fire in the downtown-area Warnick apartments displaced 42 people. Six people were hospitalized.

Fontaine made her way downstairs without shoes on, andsaw the building was on fire. That's when she said residents were told they weren't allowed to return to their residences.

A total of 42 residents have since been displaced by the fire at the 113-year-old heritage building at the edge of Central Park. The building was converted to public housing more than 35 years ago.

Winnipegdeputy fire chief Tom Wallace called the fire a "very severe" incident.

Fontaine said there were lots of flames pouring out of the building.

"It looked like a bunch of fires," she said.

Fontaine and the other residents were examined by paramedics, and they weresheltered from the26 C temperaturesin Winnipeg Transit buses before being shuttled to a hotel in downtown Winnipeg.

Fatma Atta livedon the fifth floor of the building. She also heard an alarm going offthen stopping, before hearing the alarm that triggered a response from firefighters, paramedics and social service workers.

"When I woke up it was flashing, the alarm," Atta said. "I was scared and I just grabbed housecoat and I ran away."

Both women returned to their respective suites on Monday morning. Atta grabbed her purse, but Fontaine's suite was flooded and she was unable to collect any of her belongings.

"Everything's ruined. Everything's all damaged," Fontaine said.

Atta says she was told that a potential return to the apartment building could happen on Wednesday, but that the smoke inside the building was quite strong when she returned to collect her purse.

She's just grateful to be alive.

So too is Fontaine, and she is trying to stay positive despite the circumstances.

"Why did we have to go through this on Christmas?" she asked. "At the same time we're all going through it together. We're not alone."

CBC contacted the Winnipeg police for details about the cause of the fire and the estimated damage, butan official response isn't likely to come until Wednesday.

Manitoba Housing and the Canadian Red Cross have not yet responded to requests for comment.