Shortly after noon on Saturday, Brandon Fire and Emergency Services and Brandon Police Service responded to a residence in the 500 block of Louise Ave for a structure fire. Upon arrival, fire crews observed smoke coming from multiple top floor windows in the three story residential building. Firefighter/paramedics stretched a hose line from #15 Pump up to the third floor to extinguish the fire. A large diameter hose line was connected to a nearby fire hydrant, but it was not charged with water. Firefighter/paramedics set up a PPV (positive pressure ventilation) fan to vent the residence of smoke. Thankfully, there were no injuries caused by this incident.

Source:  Brandon Police Service Media Release A 36 year old man from Brandon was arrested and charged with two counts of Theft Under $5000 on Friday.  On two different days in late December, the man stole a gaming console and a laptop from a business in the 100 block of Victoria Ave East.  He was identified by surveillance video.  He was located, arrested and released to appear in court in February.

Source: Brandon Police Service Media Release  On January 3rd, 2019 at 9:34 am, police attended to a Break and Enter in progress at a residence in the 100 blk of 18th Street. Two males from rural Brandon ages 38 and 19 were arrested on scene as they were found removing items from the residence and loading them on a truck. Both males were released on a PTA to appear in Brandon Court on 2019-02-25.

Brandon, MB – Thanks to additional funding support from the Manitoba Housing and Renewal Corporation by way of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the City of Brandon is pleased to offer its Homebuyer Assistance Program for a second consecutive year and assist qualified renters in the community as they make the transition into home ownership. The Homebuyer Assistance Program has been developed and administered by the City of Brandon’s Economic Development Department, with assistance from the Brandon Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation’s Affordable Housing Programs Coordinator. The program provides successful applicants with funding equal to a 5% down payment on the purchase of a home and a portion of associated closing costs by way of a 10-year earned forgivable loan, to a maximum of $14,000 per applicant. After its initial launch in May of 2018, the program was able to offer multiple intakes and ultimately yielded a total of 25 successful applicant families, 23 of whom have already moved into their new homes. All Homebuyer Assistance Program information, including eligibility requirements and the application process, can be found at http://www.economicdevelopmentbrandon.com/housing-programs. “Though the City of Brandon had never been involved in developing and administering a program quite like this before, those who have had a hand in its creation and delivery are extremely pleased with its success thus far,” notes City of Brandon Director of Economic Development Sandy Trudel. “The City of Brandon’s work through the program has been very rewarding, with many of the successful applicants calling it a ‘life-changing’ opportunity. The program has also created positive spin-offs in the local economy by generating business for housing inspectors, realtors, survey companies, lending institutions, solicitors, the construction industry and interpreters.” Applications for the Homebuyer Assistance Program’s current intake must be received at the Economic Development Brandon office (Main Floor, Brandon City Hall, 410-9th Street, R7A 6A2) by 5 p.m. on Monday, February 4th, 2019. For further information or assistance with submitting an application, individuals may phone 204-729-2412 or email housingcoordinator@bnrc.ca. As with 2018’s initial program, additional intake periods will be entirely dependant on available funding.

Shortly after 8:30 on Thursday night, Brandon Fire and Emergency Services and Brandon Police Service responded to the 400 block of 10th St for a structure fire. Emergency crews arrived to find smoke and fire showing from "Princess Grocery", with fire threatening a new building close-by to the north. Firefighter/paramedics made quick work with getting multiple fire hoses in service, and searching for the seat of the fire. Fire crews hooked up a supply hose-line to a nearby fire hydrant, but extra water was not needed. Firefighter/paramedics were on scene for an extended period of time, making sure the structure was vented of smoke, and that no fire remained. Manitoba Hydro was called in to help shut off electricity to the building, and an Office of the Fire Commissioner investigator was called in to investigate the cause of the fire. 10th St from Louise Ave to Victoria Ave was completely blocked off during the fire to allow crews room to work, and it remained closed for a number of hours after the fire. Thankfully there's been no word on any injuries related to this fire. Photos by Liam Pattison Photography.