Fire at vacant West End home in Winnipeg closes stretch of Sargent Avenue

A stretch of Sargent Avenue remains closed aftera vacant house caught fire and began spewing plumes of smoke in the West End on Monday afternoon.

Crews were called to the house at about 2 p.m. after reports of a fire. They had the fire under control by 2:45 p.m.

An emergency demolition took place to ensure firefighters could extinguish hot spots, according to a city news release.

Maryland Street was closed at Sargent shortly after 2 p.m. That intersection, initially closed at about 2 p.m.,reopened at about 3 p.m., according to the city.

Sargent remained closed between Maryland and Burnell Street into the afternoon.

The city urged drivers to avoid the area.