Kirsten Larsen
Northern News Services

NNSL (Mar 03/99) - The Yellowknife Fire Department had a proud record of six months without a large structural fire in the city until a call came in last Thursday night.

By the time the fire department received the call at 8:45 Thursday night, informing them of smoke coming from a three-bedroom house trailer at 5039 Forrest Drive, flames had already engulfed the home's kitchen and dining room.

"When we arrived it was a fully involved," said deputy fire chief Mike Lowing.

"What was so difficult about that fire was it was not only the contents (burning) it was the (house itself).

"The wall panelling was that old wooden panelling... The ceiling in the kitchen and the dining room collapsed, we think, before we got there," Lowing said.

The owners of the house trailer Terry King and Leevee Nowdalk, had left the home around 7 p.m. that evening, returning around 9:30 after they were informed of the fire. Fire investigators determined that a pot of cooking oil, which was left on the stove when the owners departed, was the cause of the fire.

"They had turned off the other (elements on the stove) but did not shut off the one," said Lowing. "The (burner's dial) was found in the on position. The pot broke and spilled oil onto the counter top starting it on fire."

Lowing said the dining room was filled with furniture that had been moved out of the master bedroom by the occupants who had earlier taken up the carpet in the bedroom. The furniture in the dining room and the wood panelling on the walls contributed to the rapid spread of the fire creating an intense flame and heat that made fighting the fire from the interior difficult.

Two firefighters received first and second degree burns to skin exposed to the severe heat while inside the building. One volunteer firefighter, who recently joined the department, received burns to his head, neck and ears because he was not wearing a crucial piece of protective gear. He was treated at Stanton Regional Hospital and released.

Another firefighter received burns under his chin that did not require hospital treatment.

The fire was under control by 9:30 p.m., but the home was destroyed with an estimated damage cost of $120,000 and another $50,000 for its contents.

Lowing said he is hopeful that the residents of Yellowknife will continue to help keep the fire record low in Yellowknife.

"We looked back through the (records) and this is the longest running for not having a serious, large structural fire," said Lowing. "There have been some smaller fires but our last large structural fire was in August."

Lowing added that the majority of large structural fires in Yellowknife and across Canada, happen in people's homes.