A devastating fire tore through Crystal City, Manitoba on Monday evening, reducing a grain elevator to ash and severely damaging a hardware store.
A 31-year-old man is recovering in hospital after sustaining burns. He was airlifted to the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg and is in stable condition, a STARS helicopter service spokesperson said. Police say the man was working at the elevator at the time of the blaze.
An RCMP spokesperson said officers from the Crystal City detachment responded to the fire at around 6 p.m., after a caller reported reported hearing an explosion and seeing fire coming from the top of the elevator.
The fire spread to the Cudmore Bros. Hardware building as well, which is around two blocks away from where the elevator was ablaze.