Manitoba Cold Storage

Final Farewell - August 22, 2004

    If there was one way I could honour and give a final farewell to a fallen friend this was the way to do it. With firefighters still present and police not far away and the building still smoldering I carefully climbed and hopped over the 12 foot fence.

    Quickly I ushered my way to a large pile of girders and began to unpack my camera equipment. As I set up my camera on my tri-pod I was amazed by the sight in front of me; the entire northeast side was ripped off. I was both angered and saddened by the sight of this but nonetheless I was going to go through with my mission.

    Carefully I emerged from my hiding spot and climbed up the large pile of debris and into the room where Imrie stored various items. Immediately the smell of charred remains and smoke filled my nostrils. As I made my way to the office area the the chain link fence maze presented no navigational challenge. (Mostly due to the fact that there was sunlight in the building.) As I made my way to the offices the rooms all had a similar feel and look to them, blackened walls and piles of burnt cork insulation on the floor.

    Unfortunately the office was a pile of rubble so I began to take pictures of where the office was. As I was setting up my camera my eyes began to water due to the great amount of smoke still pouring out of the walls. While taking a picture I was surprised when a rather large portion of the ceiling which contained a large amount of sparks and burnt cork insulation fall on my back. Quickly I stood up and brushed all the smouldering pieces of insulation off thankful that nothing else fell with it.

    There was nothing else to explore on the first floor (as it either had been burned or demolished) so I proceeded up the stairs to the second floor. Much like the first floor the second floor held only charred remains so I proceeded to eventually make my way up the staircase to the fourth floor.

     One of my favorite aspects of the Manitoba Cold Storage buildings is the view it affords of passing trains. Since I am a train buff I decided that a photo of a passing coal train through a hole in the wall would be fitting. After framing, focusing and taking the picture I noticed two blue figures in the right corner of the viewfinder. Puzzled I gazed up and looked to the right. With my eyes as wide as saucers I uttered a quick "Crap!"  It turns out that those two figures were firefighters conversing at the exact point where I had climbed the fence and were now looking for me.

     Knowing that my time was up I quickly packed everything up and using the sound of the train as a cover ran into the basement and hid. As the train passed the steps of the firefighters could be heard overhead walking all over the first floor. Time seemed to halt as I waited for the firefighters to leave but after seven or so minutes I was alone.

     Now came the hardest part, escaping, I had to somehow get out of the basement and to the fence which was a good 200 metres away and in broad sight of any firefighter standing on the north west portion of the yard. My decision was to use the angles building, particularly the south side to my advantage. Due to the old buildings odd shape a blind spot developed on the street that extended all the way to the end of the complex.

     Quietly I made my way out of the basement and to the south side of the building crawling through the rubble. Eventually I made it back to the rail loading docks which provided me enough cover to get off my knees and belly and walk to my exit point. At the end of my docks I carefully scanned the yard for any firefighters and ran to the fence. My hands and feet quickly grabbed the holes in the fence and my ascent up the fence was flawless. Quickly I jumped down and scrambled for cover. I then made my way to my car, started it and went home thankful that I was able to say farewell to an old friend without being caught.