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Manitoba greenhouse fire deemed under control

Jan. 23, 2013, Otterburne, Man. – A massive greenhouse fire in southern Manitoba that sparked a precautionary evacuation of several nearby homes has been brought under control.

The early morning blaze broke out at Schreimer's Home and Garden Showplace near Otterburne, about 60 kilometres south of Winnipeg.

Patrick Laroche, chief of the neighbouring St. Pierre Fire Department, says the fire started in a shed near a corner of the greenhouse and spread to the front of the structure where the storage area and main equipment are located.

Laroche says crews had to be cautious because of fertilizer and chemicals stored in the front of the building.

The RCMP set up a safety perimeter extending more than a kilometre out from the scene in the event noxious fumes spread from the fire.

The business is also a large commercial producer of cucumbers, but Laroche says the flames did not reach the vegetable-growing area.