SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
For the fourth time in just over three weeks, a fire has extensively damaged a home in Yellowknife.

Flames consume the roof of a three-storey home at 145 Niven Drive this morning. Everyone got out safely after neighbours said a gas barbecue exploded on a second-storey back deck. It is the fourth serious house fire in Yellowknife in just over three weeks. - John McFadden/NNSL photo

Firefighters were called to 145 Niven Drive in the Niven Lake subdivision just after 9 a.m. this morning after neighbours reported flames on the back deck of the large, three-storey home.

Everyone who was inside reportedly got out safely. Neighbours said the home is owned by NWT Supreme Court Judge Andrew Mahar. Neighbours also said a gas barbecue on the second-storey back deck appeared to be the source of the fire. Jane Mooney lives right next door.

"There was a terrible hiss and then an explosion. I thought someone was pressure washing the house. That's what it sounded like. We thought we would go see what the problem was and someone said they had already called the fire brigade," she said. "They got here in what seemed like about five minutes."

Fire crews seemed to struggle initially with water pressure from the fire hydrant which was located on the home's front yard. Neighbours on the other side of the home brought their garden hose out to try to help fight the fire but were unable to extinguish what by that time had become a major blaze. No other homes were damaged.

"It was burning really quickly," said another neighbour who only wanted to give his first name, Jonah. "I called the fire department and my mom knocked on their door. I saw one young boy get out."

It is still not clear if the barbecue was being used at the time of the fire. It also was not apparent whether the barbecue was directly hooked to a gas line or whether was connected to a propane tank.

Neighbours gathered to watch the fire, relieved that no one had been hurt. The fire department responded with several firefighters and vehicles including a pumper truck and an aerial unit. Municipal enforcement officers quickly closed the road off to traffic.

NWT Fire Marshal Chucker Dewar said it is rare to see so many house fires in such a short span of time. He is pleading residents to use their barbecues safely and make sure they are cleaned and maintained properly.

This is the second recent fire in Niven Lake. Flames badly damaged a home on Moyle Drive on June 23. Another fire on June 21 gutted a home on Bretzlaff Drive in the Willow Flats area of Old Town, and a fire on Canada Day badly damaged a home on Enterprise Drive in Kam Lake.

Although it was not the cause, a gas barbecue contributed to that fire, according to Dewar. None of the fires have been deemed suspicious in nature.