Tara Kearsey
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Nov 06/02) - Aside from a vehicle fire, it was a quiet and uneventful Halloween for the Yellowknife Fire Department this year.

Firefighters were called to 23 Morrison Dr. just before 7 p.m. after reports that a 1992 Plymouth parked in the driveway was ablaze.

Deputy fire chief Sandy McPhee said the fire ignited in the engine compartment and quickly engulfed the entire vehicle.

No structures were damaged and there were no injuries.

"(The owner) was driving around in the car, returned home and shut the car off and then she saw smoke coming up from beneath the hood a couple minutes later," he said.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze within four minutes. McPhee said the car was destroyed.

Following the car fire, McPhee said, there were no calls for service for the rest of the night.

"We had a couple kids come by here last night, but not very many. We usually buy a couple bags (of candy) just in case," he said.

The lack of emergency calls on Halloween night was a welcome change for the department.

All throughout the week, McPhee said, fire hall staff have been extremely busy and understaffed.

"We've been just running. Plus I've got a couple guys who are out on sick leave and vacation so, we're running short-handed," he said.