YELLOWKNIFE - A family member in a burning house on 54th Street on Sunday morning is being credited with saving his family, according to the city's deputy fire chief said.

After the fire started in a bedroom, a male occupant smelled the smoke and then saw it, deputy fire Chief Darcy Hernblad said.

"These people were very, very lucky that one of the people was still awake," Hernblad said. "He alerted everybody to get out of the house."

He said the man and the father of the family then went into the bedroom where the fire started and removed a female, who was later taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation.

Hernblad said the father doused the majority of the fire using two dry chemical extinguishers and one pressurised extinguisher.

The deputy fire chief added the household's smoke detector was not functioning, and had everyone been sleeping the situation could have been much more severe.

Though the cause of the fire has not been determined, Hernblad was able to say that it was not intentional.

"Basically there's no doubt in our mind that the fire was accidental," he said. Though the bedroom was heavily damaged by the fire, the flames did not spread further.

"The unfortunate part is smoke travels throughout the house. It gets in the walls, the carpet, in clothes," said Hernblad. He's said he's glad that there were no serious injuries caused by the fire, but hopes people are reminded to check their smoke detectors on a regular basis.

"It's important to have a working smoke detector," he advised.