Yellowknife (Mar 25/05) - It could be months before the public knows what happened during a small, routine fire in which two Yellowknife firefighters were killed.

The roof of a shed at Home Building Centre collapsed under the weight of snow and four firemen on two colleagues who were fighting a March 17 fire inside the burning building.

Kevin Olson, 24, died the day of the fire. Cyril Fyfe, 41, was taken off life support last Monday and vital organs were made available.

Four separate investigations are underway. RCMP, Workers' Compensation Board, and acting Fire Marshall Jean Ducasse will forward their findings to coroner Percy Kinney, who will write his own report.

"These investigations take time. This is not TV. People have to understand that all investigations are done in a systematic format," said Dave Grundy, WCB spokesperson.

Investigators would not discuss details, but some questions are obvious: who was in charge at the fire? Did firefighters on the roof know two men were inside? How much time passed before the two men men were pulled from the wreckage?

The RCMP has finished its investigation into whether the fire was deliberately set, but Insp. Roch Fortin says he cannot speak publicly about the results. No other timelines have been released.

"At this point, I don't think you know any more than we do," Kinney said Thursday.

City officials said the firefighters were working to stop the fire from spreading from the roof's trusses to the main building.

The shed roof was piled high with snow when the firefighters climbed on it. Shortly after the first hole was cut by a chainsaw, the roof collapsed.

Calls to the fire marshall's office were forwarded to the communications department of Municipal and Community Affairs.

"We're working hard to complete this investigation, and once accurate information is available, it will be released," said MACA spokesperson Amy Hacala.

Representatives from the company which may have supplied the materials to build the shed's roof were in Yellowknife Wednesday to inspect the damage.

A spokesperson for Trus Joist, which sells a variety of engineered wood products, also known as laminated wood, said the company will not comment on the load capacity of the roof until the investigation is concluded.

"We don't even know if our product was in the building," Robin Kelley said from Boise, Idaho.

A casual inspection by Yellowknifer of what was left of the outside of the saw shop showed the roof's trusses looked to be made of laminated wood.

According to the Canadian Wood Council website, the combustible nature of engineered wood means using it to build a structure may require additional sprinklers and fire truck access.