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Ruth Bonneville / Free Press Portage House Fire Photo of a house fire located at number 36, 8th street NW in Portage, Monday. RCMP press release info: On March 1, at approximately 4:40 a.m., Portage la Prairie RCMP received a call about a residential house fire occurring in the community with multiple residents inside. The blaze occurred at a home on the first 100 block of 8th Street Northwest. The house was fully engulfed in flames when RCMP arrived. Two adults and five children had escaped the residence with relatively minor injuries and let an officer know a 12-year-old male had not made it out of the home. His body was later located inside the residence. The cause of the fire is being investigated. See Chris Kitching story March 2nd,, 2026