Fire leaves a path of destruction in downtown Brandon

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This article was published 22/05/2018 (2695 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One of Brandon’s oldest businesses is gone and hundreds of people were left homeless in what has been called the city’s worst fire in modern memory.

No one was hurt after a fire burned down three structures — including Christie’s Office Plus, the Collyer’s Sales and Service, Brandon Boxing Club and Kazic Kontracting building, and a beer vendor and former nightclub across from The Brandon Sun — over the May long weekend.

A cause has not been determined and both the Office of the Fire Commissioner and the Brandon Police Service are investigating the incident.

“At this time, (there) doesn’t seem to be any significant risk to the community in terms of the large fire outbreak,” said Brian Kayes, director of risk and emergency management for the City of Brandon, on Saturday.

The fire began at around noon in the Christie’s Office Plus building at Seventh Street and Pacific Avenue.

Strong winds carried embers across the street to the Massey Manor residential building, the Collyer’s, boxing club and Kazic complex, as well as the beer vendor and former nightclub, setting all three on fire.

Brandon Fire and Emergency Services personnel were assisted by the Souris-Glenwood, Oakland-Wawanesa and CFB Shilo fire departments, along with crews from Manitoba Hydro and Office of the Fire Commissioner.

The bulk of the fires were largely out after several hours, but by the end of the day, both the Christie’s building and the beer vendor were destroyed.

Canada Post did not respond to a request for comment about the outlet that was lost inside Christie’s.

Crews remained at the Collyer’s, Boxing Club and Kazic building overnight Saturday to fight what proved to be a difficult fire to contain. By Sunday morning, it too was gone.

Some of the buildings collapsed into themselves, meaning firefighters had to dig into them in order to put out any remaining hot spots.

A backhoe was also used to tear down the walls of some buildings out of concern for the public’s safety.

Several crowds had formed around each of the fires, with many people recording them on their cellphones.

Darcy Poirier, the assistant manager of the beer vendor, was at home getting ready for the evening shift when he got a call from an employee telling him the building was on fire.

“When I first saw it, I just dropped to my knees,” he said.

Charlene Duval, an insurance broker at Dick Agencies, was at the company’s office on Rosser Avenue when a client came in saying that Christie’s was on fire.

She later saw smoke coming from the beer store and by 2 p.m., her office had lost power.

“All of them were burning by that time,” she said.

Standing in the back alley of his girlfriend’s house, Steve Longworth watched from about a block away as firefighters tried to douse the flames at the beer vendor.

Longworth said he and his girlfriend packed a bag in the event they would have to leave their home.

“We’ve been wetting the house and garage just in case,” he said.

Massey Manor sustained a significant amount of damage due to the amount of water that was poured on top of the building where the fire had originated.

“It was shocking,” said Bryan Martin, property manager for Massey Manor, on Saturday, “but it’s contained and that’s a nice thing.”

The 56-unit building is jointly owned and operated by the Brandon Friendship Centre, Canadian Mental Health Association and Manitoba Housing.

A former agricultural supply store and warehouse, Massey was converted to apartments in recent years through a partnership between the Friendship Centre, CMHA and Habitat for Humanity.

Approximately 200 people lived in the building and on Saturday, several people were taken by city bus to the Victoria Inn, where the Red Cross had set up a registration booth to help any displaced residents.

By Monday, the Red Cross had registered 174 people in need of help, with some being housed at the Victoria Inn and Clarion Hotel.

Some residents described the situation as “devastating,” with the news sinking in as they waited to hear what would happen next.

Dozens of people were seen waiting in the grand salon of the Victoria Inn for their turn to register, some holding blankets or sitting in red chairs, while a number of children walked around with teddy bears given to them from the Red Cross.

At least one tenant offered a positive outlook on the situation.

“We might have lost our home and the things we have,” said Brittany Goertzen, “but we got out safe and God will take care of us.”

Manitoba Hydro said more than 1,000 customers in central Brandon were without power because of the fire. All had their power restored by 9:30 p.m. on Saturday.

The Salvation Army was also downtown providing people with drinks, sandwiches, granola bars and cookies.

Brandon Mayor Rick Chrest described the situation as “extremely devastating” to the residents and businesses affected, as well as their employees and clients.

“By modern standards, this is certainly one of the biggest, if not the biggest, (fire) in the last 50 or 60 years.”

Politicians took to Twitter to share their thoughts, including Chrest, who said he was devastated for the owners and staff of Christie’s.

“My thoughts are also for the safety of our first responders who are battling this horrific fire,” Chrest said. “We would ask the public to avoid the area to allow crews to do this work.”

Premier Brian Pallister said he was watching the fire with deep concern. “Thanks to Brandon firefighters and police personnel for keeping Brandonites safe.”

» mlee@brandonsun.com

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