North End residents, business owners will seek ideas to halt rapid rise in building fires
North End Historical Society hosting Tuesday night meeting to brainstorm solutions
Residents, business owners and history lovers have been invited to gather on Tuesday evening to brainstorm solutions to combat a recent rash of fires in an historic Winnipeg neighbourhood.
Winnipeg's North End is having a tough time with building fires, particularly at historic and/or vacant buildings, says Michael Redhead Champagne, a longtime community activist and an event organizer with the North End Historical Society.
"We are regularly dealing with older buildings that are going up in flames, and it just feels constant," he told guest host Margaux Watt during a Tuesday interview with CBC Manitoba's Information Radio.
The historical society is inviting people who are interested in preserving North End history to its monthly general meeting, scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday at Merchants Corner, in order to discuss ways to halt fires in the area.
"So many stories are contained within our built environment, and there are so many iconic buildings that we have in the North End of Winnipeg," Champagne said.
While residents, businesses and organizations are passionate about keeping the North End safe, the fires are creating fear in the community, he said.
"The question is, how can we prevent arson in the North End of Winnipeg?" he said.
LISTEN | North End gathering to discuss fires in community:
Tuesday's gathering comes just two days after back-to-back fires struck the same block of Selkirk Avenue, near Salter Street.
On Saturday, crews were also sent to battle a blaze at a vacant home on Alfred Avenue. Earlier this year, a vacant, three-storey apartment block was demolished after the Mountain Avenue building suffered its third fire since 2023.
It's unclear whether any of the fires were caused by arson.
The city is still working to finalize the number of fires in vacant buildings last year, a spokesperson told CBC News. However, previous data shows that those numbers have risen in recent years.
In 2023, the city had a record 156 fires at vacant properties — a 38 per cent increase from the previous year. The city recorded 114 vacant building fires in the first half of 2024.
'Every problem has a solution'
Mary Burton, who has lived in the North End on and off her entire life, says while arson is a possibility behind the recent fires, she believes poverty and housing insecurity are also factors.
"There are a lot of squatters in these vacant buildings, and they're just trying to stay warm," she said. "There's no electricity, so they start a fire, and then it gets out of control."
Burton says individuals alone cannot fix the problem.
"It's a question that I myself, as a single individual, cannot answer. We need to have community input," she said.
The fires have sparked "palpable" fear in her community, but Burton says she's hopeful something can be done. She would like to see the community's ideas at the gathering be passed along to government leaders.
"I think every problem has a solution, and we just have to find it."
Tim Shorting says he's lived on Flora Avenue for four months, but the sound of firetrucks in the neighbourhood has been constant.
The fires are scary for him because of how close the houses are to each other in parts of the North End, he said. The house next to his recently burned and has since sat empty, leaving Shorting worried about future fires that could spread to his home.
"One catches on fire, it's not going to be long before the other one [does too]," he said. "The community has to get together and watch these empty places."
Champagne says the community already has a number of organizations working to make the North End safe, such as the William Whyte Neighbourhood Association and the North End Community Renewal Corporation, and the area would benefit if those groups joined forces.
"We feel like, if we can put all of those folks together, we can make a better plan and we can actually improve the situation."
He says people in the North End aren't only worried about arson, but the damaged infrastructure, the community's overall historical culture, and people who might be seeking shelter in those buildings.
"We want to have a comprehensive solution that takes care of our relatives that are struggling with homelessness or mental-health challenges that, maybe, are a part of these fires in some kind of way."
Building fires in the North End burn more than just property, he said.
"It really impacts the whole neighbourhood, not only because there's a missing building … but because folks [might] have been hurt in that situation and building owners are now reeling, and the community has one less service," he said.
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With files from Chidi Ekuma and Gavin Axelrod