Family recalls harrowing fire that consumed 4-storey Brandon condo building

Wendy Thom wasn't home when a fire broke out Tuesday night at theBrandon, Man., condo building where she lives with her two adult children but when she heard about the blaze, she frantically rushed back.

"I didn't know what to think.I started shaking as I got closer to the fire and all I could think of was my kidsI wonder if they got out," she said Wednesday.

"I just started rushing through and I said, 'I'm in a hurry!I'm in a hurry! I'm trying to find my kids!' And as I went around the corner, thank God they were standing right there, where I could find them fast," she said.

"By then the whole building was up in flames. Itwas engulfed."

Fire crews were called to the fire at the four-storeyPacific Avenuebuilding just before 9 p.m.,Brandon Police Service Sgt.Kirby Sararastold CBC News later Tuesday night.

Before thebuilding was engulfed, emergency personnel managed to get inside and knock on the doors of each suite to alert tenants.

There were no reported injuries, but as of Wednesday afternoon, firefighters were stillat the building, ensuring hot spots were put out.

While Thom isrelieved her family is alive and well, she and the otherresidents in the47-unit building are now homeless.

Her daughter, Leslie Thom, said she was taking a nap when she woke to the sound of fire alarms at about 8:45 p.m.She smelled smoke and yelled for her brother to grab his essentials so they could get out.

"I'm a little shaken up, and trying to figure out what to do now," Leslie said.

The Thom family is among a number of evacuees who are staying temporarily at the Victoria Inn, where the City of Brandon has set up an emergency social services centre.

Meanwhile, Brandon Fire and Emergency Services is just beginning to investigate the cause of the fire with the fire commissioner's office. Officials are surveying the building to see if it's safe for people to go back in to get their belongings,said Terry Parlow, the city's deputy fire chief.

"Once that's completed, we'll probably complete the investigation side of it and we'll co-ordinate with the tenants to be able to go in there one at a time and look at their contents and get as much as they can," Parlow said.

"We're hoping that over the next few days we'll be able to do that."

Parlow said this is one of the largest fires he's seen in recent years, and although crews arrived quickly, the fire spread rapidly.

"With regards to building materials and such, they do go rather quickly. The fact that we were able to have a quick response andget on it as quickly as we did has allowed us to actually be able to do a better investigation of the area," he said.

As for the Thom family, they're now looking for a new place to live after moving into their apartment only a week ago.

"I justgot that home. Now I got to look for another one," Wendy said.

"It's so hard to find homes in Brandon, and you find a decent oneand it's gone down to ashes."

2nd fire in a week

This is the second fire in less than a week atthe condo complex.

On Friday afternoon, Brandon police reported that emergency services were called for an active fire within a suite there.

Investigatorssaythe accidentalfire was caused when atenant set a bag of groceries on the stove,turning a burner on, which ignited the contents of the bag.

Brandon condo fire leaves residents homeless

3 years ago

Duration 2:33

Residents of 47-unit condo building in southwestern Manitoba are now homeless, including family who moved in a week ago. Before the building was engulfed, emergency personnel managed to get inside and knock on the doors of each suite to alert those tenants who were home to leave.