Rooming-house tragedies drive up number of Winnipeg fire deaths

Seven people have died in Winnipeg firesso far this year, up six from a single death in 2015.

Winnipeg Fire ParamedicChief John Lane called the reason behind the increase "the million-dollar question," though five out of seven deaths this year took place at rooming houses.

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• Man dies in Winnipeg house fire
• Man pulled from Aberdeen Avenue house fire dies

Speaking at city hall,Lane said his department has "very good" response times inWinnipeg's inner city, where most of the deaths happened.

"We can't get there any faster," Lane said after he presented the fire-paramedic service's $199-million budget to city council's protection, community services and parks committee.

Instead, the chiefpointed to a lack of early detection as the problem. By the time the fire-paramedic service knows of the fire, it's too big to fight effectively, he said.

"It really becomes hopeless. People can't survive those conditions," Lane said.

To reduce fire fatalitiesnext year, Lane saidsmoke alarms must be installed inmore homes. He also wants people to plan and practice fire-escape routes and avoid fire-starting behaviours like leaving cooking unattended.

Fire crews to install more alarms

The fire-paramedic service started what it describes as a"safe home program" on Sept. 23, with the goal of installing a smoke alarm inevery Winnipeg home. While theprogram is not highlighted in Winnipeg's 2017 budget, the fundingis included.

• Fire inspectors to visit rooming houses with shared facilities once a year

The program calls for fire crews to findhomes that don't have alarms and have corporate partners pay to install them. The fire-paramedic service has a means ofidentifying at-risk homes.

Seven fire deaths this year

Two women and a man died when a rooming house onAlexander Avenue in the Centennial neighbourhoodwent up in flames on Feb. 28. The fire was ruled as accidental.

On July 6, a middle-aged man was pronounced dead after fire crews pulled him from a house on Aberdeen Avenue in the North End. It wasbelieved thatfire started from something cooking in the kitchen.

One day later, two people died on Austin Street, in North Point Douglas,when their house caught fire due to arson.

Then on Nov. 17, an elderly man succumbed to injuries he sustained after his Charleswood home caught fire in the middle of the night.