House fire extinguished, occupants able to escape

The Steinbach Fire Department was called to a house fire on Giesbrecht Street Monday afternoon near the Donald Avenue intersection. 

Fire Chief Kel Toews says his crews were paged at 3:45 P.M. 

“We arrived and it was fully involved, there was fire coming out of the front, so we knocked it down. It is out now, we are just doing a little bit of overhaul and waiting for the fire commissioner who should be here shortly.” 

While the fire was raging, thick smoke was seen drifting into downtown Steinbach which caused reduced visibility in some areas.  

Toews says "From what I have gathered, there were three people in the house at the time and they all got out." He notes he is unsure if any of the three individuals were injured.  

With the fire commissioner on the way to investigate, Toews says he anticipates a small portion of his crew will remain at the scene of the fire well into the evening.  

The cause of the fire and the extent of the damage are not yet known, however, those should be a part of the fire commissioner's report in the coming days.