West End History: Minto Armouries Fire (1956)

Source: Winnipeg Fire Museum

At 5:25 a.m. on Sunday, January 22, 1956 Minto Armouries' night furnaceman Bert Polson was eating his lunch when he noticed smoke entering the boiler room. He called the fire department who arrived to find the St. Matthews Avenue structure ablaze.

Firefighters had quite a challenge on their hands. Aside from the - 20 temperature, the main entrance to the massive structure was located directly underneath the second floor area that was burning.

At the other end of the building, a different drama was unfolding. The Armouries' live-in caretaker Robert Mainer and wife Lily fled to the roof of the building around 6 a.m.. Due to smoke and the size of the building, the couple spent half an hour unseen and unheard calling out for help. Lily Mainer, who was partially paralyzed due to lateral sclerosis, recounted:

"Does anybody hear us? Like heck they do. They're (neighbours) all asleep. Half an hour we stand there screaming and shivering and shivering and screaming."
January 23, 1956, Winnipeg Free Press

They were finally spotted by a passing police car and firefighters were alerted. The couple and their pets were saved.

As news of the fire spread, soldiers came to the Armoury. The first one there was a Lt. Smith who drove ten vehicles out of the basement. As others poured onto the scene, they removed the remaining vehicles as well as regimental trophies and records, musical instruments, kilts, rifles and "refreshments" (the newspaper didn't elaborate on the latter.) Sadly, not all of the regimental records and photos were saved.

January 23, 1956, Winnipeg Free Press

The twelve-hour long blaze took its toll. Two firemen were injured and it cost Battalion Chief Andrew Hebenton his life.

Hebenton, 65, was a 42-year veteran of the force and entered the building numerous times over the course of the morning. On one trip he had chest pains and had to be helped outside by his men. He refused to leave the scene and directed the fight from his car. When his chest pains continued he was brought, against his will, the the hospital.

Hospital staff thought that the feisty Hebenton might be delirious from heat exhaustion and began asking him questions, to which he shot back: “I know what day it is. There’s nothing wrong with me. It’s Sunday. And there’s a fire at Minto Armouries and I’ve got to get back there fast." He died shortly after from a heart attack. (January 23, 1956, Winnipeg Free Press.)

Source: Winnipeg Tribune

It had been a devastating few weeks for the fire department. Chief David Clawson was unable to attend fires due to a heart problem, the deputy chief was injured when he fell at a fire in December and in November Battallion Chief Robert Beatson was killed at a blaze.

Morale had been low at the department for a number of years due to administrative matters. It was further lowered when a couple of firemen openly told the media that that the second alarm, called in at 10:30 a.m., came hours too late, allowing the blaze to become an inferno.

The $600,000 fire spawned three investigations.

The first was by the provincial fire commissioner on the cause of the fire. It was accidental, believed to have been a smouldering cigarette butt on a chesterfield in the second floor Sergeants' Mess.

March 3, 1956, Winnipeg Free Press

Due to the public complaints by firefighters, the Public Safety Committee of city council interviewed those involved and ordered the fire department to report on the fire and whether, in retrospect, a second alarm should have been called in sooner.

The department's 68-page report came in early March and concluded that:

"Fire department records indicate that proper fire fighting techniques were employed in the fighting of the fire."
March 3, 1956, Winnipeg Free Press.

The report cited the age of the building and complicated as reasons for the quick spread and that additional firefighters on-hand earlier than 10:30 would not have made a difference.

The two firemen who went public about the delay refused to sign official statements to that effect. One said that he spoke out of emotion and couldn't remember all of the facts. the other denied speaking to a reporter. Though some on council and in the media wanted a further, independent investigation, others felt that there was no point if there was no 'official' complaint by men on the scene. The report was "received as information."

Finally, the Defense Department explored whether or not the Armouries could be rebuilt. Initially, it was thought that the building might be a write-off, cheaper to rebuild than to repair. They hired consultants, including Green, Blankstein, Russell and Associates, to examine the structure and provide a cost estimate for reconstruction.

February 25, 1956, Winnipeg Free Press

While this was going on, a lobby began to have the Armouries moved elsewhere in the city.

Built in what was the outskirts of the city in 1913, the West End west of Arlington had grown into a mature, residential neighbourhood. The noise and traffic of an armoury was a sore point for some.

Some on council examined whether a zoning technicality could prevent the reconstruction, (it couldn't.) Then, the city looked into purchasing land immediately north of the Armouries to save future expansion. They were too late, though, as DND had already purchased it along with a section of land to the south, across St. Matthews Avenue.

March 16, 1956, Winnipeg Free Press

On March 16, 1956 it was announced in the House of Commons that the cost to restore the Armouries was $470,000, within what the department considered reasonable. In July plans for a $900,000 redevelopment, including new buildings to the north and south of the main building were announced. Work began soon after.

Minto Armouries is still in use today. It is home to the Royal Winnipeg Rifles and their regimental museum as well as the The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders Cadet Corps.

Related:
Armouries in Winnipeg Swept by $600,000 fire Ottawa Citizen (1956)
Visiting Winnipeg's Historic Minto Armouries The Bomb Garden