Terry Halifax
Northern News Services

NNSL (July 16/99) - Fire broke out in the Deh Cho Hall in Fort Simpson early on July 13, causing more than a half million dollars in damage according to early reports from fire Chief Pat Rowe.

Rowe said the fire was in the attic of the building, but most of the damage was caused by smoke and water.

"The fire was in the attic of the south side of the building," Rowe said. "It travelled towards the east side of the building -- towards the air vents, as that is what was feeding it.

"At first indications we're looking at something around $300,000 to $500,000 to start and it might be more," Rowe said. "A lot of high-end computer stuff was in one area of the building.

"The fire itself hasn't caused much damage. Most of the damage is water damage -- water and smoke," Rowe added.

At press time, Rowe said the cause of the fire is still undetermined.

"We can rule out wiring, because there is no electrical in there that would indicate an electrical fire," he said. "The conduit is all sealed, we couldn't find anything in the boxes that indicated an electrical problem."

Firefighters worked at the blaze from inside the building, but had to allow for the smoke to escape, Rowe said.

"We went in through the ceiling and opened the roof just to clear the smoke and gases."

Deh Cho Hall is home to a number of government offices, Aurora College classrooms, Department of Education houses their resource centre there, board of education offices and the Department of Culture and Employment offices are also there.

Rowe said the sprinkler system saved the building from being totally destroyed.

"If this building wasn't sprinklered, it would have been a long day," he said. "As dry as it is, wood joists, old building, it's going to go up fairly fast. Once fire catches hold of an old building, you can contain it, but you're going to have a lot more damage."