Charred rubble is all that remains of a shopping center in Steinbach after a fire tore through the building over the weekend, spewing toxic smoke and killing dozens of animals at a pet store.
Crews from the Steinbach Fire Department were called to the shopping center on Main Street between Friesen Avenue and Reimer Avenue around 3:30 p.m. Sunday. The building housed a paint store, a pet store, and a flooring store.
Area resident Autumn Poitras said she heard the alarms Sunday afternoon.
“I peeked out and saw smoke rising and smelled a strange smell,” she said.
Looking at the charred wreckage is difficult for Steven Larson, manager of the Best West Pet Foods store that was located in the mall.
“I knew it was bad, but seeing it in person, it’s even worse than I thought it would be,” Larson told CTV News.
An employee working at the store had called him on Sunday afternoon and told him she smelled smoke. Larson thought it was a loose or frayed wire—nothing serious—until his employee called a few minutes later in a panic to say there was smoke coming out of the vents.
By the time Larson reached the store, fire crews were already battling the blaze.
The fire started in a shopping center in Steinbach on July 10, 2022. (Source: Facebook/Kenni Harder)
“We weren’t allowed back into the building, but a couple of firefighters … went and grabbed all the animals they could, so we got some of them out — not enough, but we did,” Larson said.
He said that although there were more than 100 animals in the store, only three reptiles – two bearded dragons and a chameleon – were rescued from the fire before things got worse.
“It wasn’t long before I saw flames coming from the top of the building,” he said. “We’re affiliated with a paint and flooring store with a lot of flammable materials there, so once I got started, it all happened pretty quickly.”
Steinbach Fire Chief Kelvin Toews said crews from La Broquerie and Hanover Fire Departments helped fight the blaze.
“We decided it was not safe for us to be in the building any longer. We withdrew and went into a defensive attack,” he said.
It was a challenge made even more difficult as the flames spread to a paint and flooring shop, both of which contained highly flammable materials.
This led to an air quality warning.
In a statement, the Steinbach Fire Department said an air quality advisory was issued in Steinbach “due to the nature of the contents” of the affected structure. The city of Steinbach tweeted that the smoke was considered toxic.
1 of 2 We continue to battle a significant fire on Main Street between Friesen Avenue and Reimer Avenue. Due to the contents of the structures involved in the fire, the resulting smoke is considered toxic.
— Steinbach Fire Dept. (@SteinbachFire) July 11, 2022
While the warning was lifted Monday afternoon, Toews said the smoke could continue to linger.
“People in the immediate vicinity here still need to be cautious,” he said. “There will be some residual smoke coming out of the building, but it shouldn’t get much further than a block.”
Toews said crews were on the scene overnight Sunday and all day Monday fighting the fire and extinguishing hot spots.
Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the fire, but the building was completely destroyed. Toews said there were no reports of injuries.
Larson said as he considers what his next steps are for the pet store, the community has rallied around him.
“We’re all getting so much love from the community, with people just worrying about us and feeling almost as devastated as we are,” he said.
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