A downtown inferno in Brandon has razed a 58-unit apartment complex operated by the Brandon Friendship Centre. Incredibly, it appears no one has been hurt in the conflagration. Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister called the fire massive, as indeed it was, burning through several buildings. Brian Kayes, Brandon’s director of risk and emergency management, said the fire broke out in an office and school supplies store across the street from the apartment. Flaming embers rained onto the apartment, known as Massey Manor, as well as a bar and beer store. All were destroyed. At the fire’s peak Saturday afternoon, City officials warned that embers were drifting “a significant distance” and were threatening to spark more fires. Reinforcements from outside the City, including firefighters from Canadian Forces Base Shilo, arrived to help stop the blaze. CTV says the fire destroyed or damaged “multiple buildings” in the core. “The people that lived in Massey Manor went outside to watch the fire and then unbeknownst to them, their building caught fire. So pretty well everyone had already evacuated from that building to watch the fire,” Kayes explained.
Video from Sarah of the Christie's Office Plus Fire in Downtown Brandon pic.twitter.com/nszSTQ2Kto
— Star FM Brandon (@StarfmBrandon) May 19, 2018
