What was behind the steam and loud noise coming from a downtown Winnipeg building

A large swath of steam is seen rising at the Archives of Manitoba building. (Image source: Chris Mulligan)

If you spent time in the Memorial Park area this week, you may have heard or seen something out of the ordinary coming from a government building.

A large swath of steam and a loud noise could be seen and heard emitting from the Archives of Manitoba building on Vaughan Street.

According to the province, this was due to the commissioning of a new boiler in the central power house. This involved a ‘boil off’ - a process that causes a lot of steam and noise.

It happened once in the morning and again in the afternoon on both Wednesday and Thursday.

The province said there are no safety concerns associated with the burn off.

Another test of the boiler is required, the province added, but it is not scheduled at this time.