House fire leaves 1 dead, 1 in critical condition

One person is dead and another is in hospital in critical condition after they were unable to escape a house fire Tuesday morning in Winnipeg's North End.

Two deadcats were also found by emergency crews when they responded to the fire just before 7 a.m.in a single family bungalow on Boyd Avenue, off Powers Street.

Fire Chief John Lane did not have information on the gender or specific ageof the people, but said both were adults.

The small house was engulfed in heavy flames and smoke. It was only after crews were able to gain control that they could get inside where they found the victims, he said.

"We had reports right away of possibly somebody trapped inside. Crews made immediate entry" and located the two people,said Lane, who estimated thehouse to be 400500 square feet.

The first fire hydrant that the firefighters tried to use didn't work, possibly because it was frozen, but District 24 Chief Dave Belza said crews quickly found a working hydrant down the road.

The malfunctioning hydrant didn't make any difference, he said.

"Crews arrived pretty quick, within a few minutes, and because of the heavy smoke conditions, time with that [first] hydrant wouldn't have mattered," said Belza.

The fire was declared under control just before 8 a.m. and its cause is now under investigation.

The fire caused significant flame, smoke and water damage, but no dollar amount has been released.

It is not known whether the house was equipped with working smoke alarms, the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service said in a news release.