Last Tuesday’s blaze sent plumes of black smoke drifting through the area, forcing some people to evacuate their homes temporarily. The foundry was once located on this industrial site Volcanic Iron Worksthat is part of the history of the city of Winnipeg.

Kendra Halabicki recently moved to the Point Douglas neighborhood. She worries about her health, especially as she is still coughing up phlegm, blackheads and gray spots days after the fire.

I still have problems and cough a lot, especially in the morning. She says.

Kendra Halabicki adds that she has asthma and has to use her inhaler more than a dozen times a day because she always has trouble breathing.

Officials said there were burnt cars, bikes and jerrycans of gas inside the burning building.

The owner of a business in the Carol Hjorting district says these facts are all the more worrying given that this industrial building has been neglected for years.

I don’t think there should be industrial sites in city districtsShe says. Such a thing would never have happened in the Wolseley area.

The situation in Point Douglas is all the more concerning as a report released in 2022 indicated high levels of lead in that county’s land.

Another study published in 2019 found that the life expectancy of people living in Point Douglas was lower than that of residents of other Winnipeg boroughs.

Neil Johnston, president of the Manitoba Lung Association, says fires like Point Douglas can create a cocktail of noxious gases and particles that can affect the lungs.

He adds that these cause inflammation and can lead to long-term problems like cancer and cardiovascular disease.

With information from Caitlyn Gowriluk