5 hospitalized after fire in St. Matthews: WFPS

A house fire in St. Matthews in Winnipeg sent five to hospital and led to evacuation of two neighbouring houses on Saturday.

A house fire led to five patients transported to hospital.

At 9:42 a.m. on Saturday, firefighters were sent to a fire in a house in the 300 block of Agnes Street in St. Matthews.

Fire crews arrived to heavy flames and smoke coming from the house.

Paramedics examined seven people. Three were sent to hospital in critical condition and two were sent in stable condition. Two did not need to be transported to hospital.

As a precautionary measure, firefighters also evacuated two neighbouring houses.

Firefighters used both offensive and defensive strategies to fight the fire – declaring it under control at 2:32 p.m., about five hours after the initial dispatch.

Winnipeg Transit sent a bus to act as a temporary shelter for displaced residents and the city deployed an emergency social services team.

The fire is under investigation. The city said the house received significant damage from fire, smoke and water.