Fire in Winnipeg's Edgeland neighbourhood sends 3 people to hospital, leaves 2 cats dead

Three people are in hospital and two cats are dead following a house fire in Winnipeg on Thursday morning.

Emergency crews were called just after 4 a.m. to a housing complex off Doncaster Street in the Edgeland neighbourhood, at the eastern edge of Tuxedo.

When they arrived, they found smoke coming from a two-storey townhouse. Firefighters were able to go inside and had the blaze extinguished by 5:30 a.m.

One person from the townhouse, who got out before crews arrived, was taken to hospital in stable condition due to smoke inhalation.

Two neighbours who entered the townhouse to search for other occupants also had to be sent to hospital for smoke inhalation — one in stable condition and one in unstable condition.

Fire crews found a cat that had died as well as another that was injured. An attempt to resuscitate the second cat was unsuccessful and it died as well.

Two townhouse units received significant damage while a number more sustained smoke damage, a news release from the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service said.

The city's emergency social services team was also called in to help displaced residents find temporary housing.

Preliminary observations suggest the fire was caused by smoking, the news release said.

No information has been released about the ages or genders of the people sent to hospital.

No damage estimates are available at this time.

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