Flames chase 6 from Winnipeg home, pet bird rescued
Six people were forced from a burning home in Winnipeg's West End on Tuesday, while firefighters went in and rescued a pet bird.
Fire crews were called to the 1½-storey house on Victor Street, between Sargent Avenue and Ellice Avenue, just before 3 a.m.
Three adults and three children, ranging in age from an infant to six years old, got out of the the home before firefighters arrived but they were unable to escape with the bird.
Fire crews put out the flames and then retrieved the bird, a budgie, and brought it out safely to the waiting family members.
A total of nine people — five children and four adults — live in the house but two kids were up north visiting their grandmother at the time, according to Darryl Contois, who also lives there but was away when the fire started.
"My son called me and said 'Dad, the house is on fire.' I came right away to see if everybody was OK and they were so I'm glad for that," he said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation but Contois says it started in the ceiling area of the bathroom.
"We've got a lot of smoke and water damage in the house … and there's some rebuilding to do," he said.
In the meantime, everyone has had to find other places to live but fortunately, Contois said, there are other relatives in the city where they can go.
