Owner of former Vulcan Iron Works urges city to crack down on arsonists after latest fire:
The site of the former Vulcan Iron Works foundry at Sutherland Avenue and Maple Street North. The building that was declared a total loss after a fire in 2023, suffered another structure fire Saturday evening.
Nick Kasper, president of the United Firefighters of Winnipeg Local 867, said fire crews are already overwhelmed heading into the summer.
”Call volumes are higher than ever, overtime costs are skyrocketing and our firefighters are burnt out,” he said.
Kasper noted that despite the strain, the city recently announced plans to cut a truck from Station 1 on Ellen Street — the busiest in the city and the one serving the North Point Douglas area.
”Estimates suggest that call volumes will increase by 40 per cent for the remaining trucks,” he said. “We need more resources, not less. The United Firefighters of Winnipeg is very concerned with what the next few months are going to look like.”
The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service responded with ladder trucks and hand lines, attacking the fire from outside.
Kasper echoed Blank’s concerns about the lack of accountability for alleged serial arson in the area.
“Arsons are not going to stop until they are investigated and arsonists charged, and that is simply not going to happen until we have an appropriately staffed arson task force,” he said.
A task force was set up by the province in 1999, but disbanded in 2014.
At the time, it consisted of five firefighters, four police officers and three fire commissioner’s office investigators. It reduced arson and suspicious fires in Winnipeg by 38 per cent in its first year.
In 2024, there were approximately 500 fire investigations, a WFPS spokesperson told the Free Press in March. About 30 per cent of those were deemed to be “incendiary” or deliberately ignited.
The city was in the process of adding one full-time investigator to the roster at that time, but Kasper said the union had asked for funding for a two-person team at all times and another dog. The city has one full-time arson-sniffing dog, Scooby.
As for his next steps, Blank said he’s uncertain. In the immediate aftermath, he needs to go and replace a fence that was knocked down so that crews could douse the flames.
The owner of the building on Sutherland Avenue says he’s uncertain about his next steps — but if a buyer came forward, he’d sell immediately.
“We go three or four times a week to check the fencing, close the gates,” he said. “Every week, there’s a cost associated with trying to (protect the property).
“But it doesn’t make any difference. You could build the Great Wall of China and they’d still get in.”
– Winnipeg Free Press
