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INUVIK - Corrine Lindsay was sitting in her living room June 11 surfing the net while her fiancee Logan Bullock lounged nearby watching TV, when without warning the ceiling started to split.

"He screamed, 'Corrine, brace yourself' and then our house just collapsed," said Lindsay.

Corrine Lindsay stands in front of her mother's house with her fiance Logan Bullock, not long after the pair made it out safely after the structure's pilings gave way and the house came crashing down last week. - Andrew Rankin/ NNSL photos

What was supposed to be a laid back Thursday turned into all-out panic for the couple after the structure at 100 Bompas Rd. tipped, then came crashing down along with all the furniture, including pictures, dishes and appliances.

"The fridge started coming at me and a beam deflected it," she said.

"It felt like an earthquake, like the house was going to crumble to pieces. I have a one-year-old daughter who was being babysat by my grandmother at the time, so I'm so thankful things happened the way that they did and nobody got hurt."

The pilings supporting the house had given way, causing the structure to drop about a metre. It now rests upright but tilted.

The couple was able to escape from the house unharmed.

Lindsay's parents, who own the home, were out of town at the time.

Fire crews arrived moments after the incident and cordoned off the property.

Deputy fire chief Rick Lindsay, who is Corrine's uncle, built the home with his brother 15 years ago. He was one of the first emergency responders on the scene.

He attributed the house's collapse to rotting pilings after surveying the damage and coming across several of the wooden supports that were practically rotted through.

He said he hoped the accident would serve as a reminder to other homeowners about the importance of regularly monitoring and maintaining pilings, whether the home is new or not.

"Now's the season to get under there and check them out," he said. "There's different organizations that will drill them and check them for you.

"People might think this sort of thing only happens to old houses. Well this house is not old. It's only 15 years old."

The deputy fire chief said wooden pilings are susceptible to rotting due to the freezing and thawing process that happens every year. He said he knows of several other homes that are resting on pilings that are not properly maintained, adding homeowners may want to invest in steel pilings.

Apart from some cracked drywall, he said the structure remains salvageable.

Corrine said the family will need time to consider what to do with the home. In the meantime, she said they'll stay with relatives.

"We'll have to talk about what comes next. We're just happy we're all OK," she said.