Derek Neary
Northern News Services

FORT SIMPSON (Jul 24/98) - A pickup truck that caught fire inside an Arctic Airports maintenance garage at the Fort Simpson airport caused an estimated $88,000 in damage to the building last Wednesday afternoon.

"It looks like mainly smoke damage to the shop itself," fire chief Pat Rowe said. He added that the truck, a 1991 Ford F250 crew cab, was a complete loss.

All of Fort Simpson's fire units responded to the alarm, which sounded at 5:25 p.m. It took them approximately five minutes to get the fire under control.

"We kept it down to using minimal water. The guys did just super, technique-wise," said Rowe.

The source of the blaze is suspected to be a short in the vehicle's electrical system, but that is difficult to prove due to the extent of the damage to the truck, said Rowe. Regardless, the cause is non-suspicious.

The RCMP on the scene kept everyone back at least 100 metres, warning them of a possible explosion.

"Anytime that you have a building that's using its own oxygen to supply the fire, it brings you into a backdraft situation," Rowe explained. "Basically, what the fire is doing is starving itself inside the sealed building. Once it gets air, it can cause an explosion."

There were some additional sources of fuel within the garage as well such as oil, petroleum and the truck's own fluids. However, there were no injuries as a result of the fire.

Eventually, everyone downwind was told to clear the area as black, billowing smoke blew into the airport parking lot.