A Winnipeg man arrested for helping to set a rooming house fire that killed two people has been sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Edward Beardy, 38, was convicted in the spring of two counts of manslaughter and arson.

Brenda Campbell, who was 51, and 61-year-old John Bendon died on July 7, 2016, after fires were set to the front and rear exits of a building in the 100 block of Winnipeg's Austin Street. The blaze also left eight other people homeless.

Beardy stood trial charged with second-degree murder, but jurors convicted him of the lesser offence of manslaughter.

The co-accused, Jonathon Barstad, 36, previously pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 15 years.

The judge credited Beardy for time served, leaving him with 15 years on his sentence.