Extreme cold temperatures cause problems for fire crews
Tara Kearsey
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Dec 11/00) - An Old Town warehouse was completely destroyed by fire early Saturday morning.
At approximately 2:15 a.m., members of the Yellowknife Fire Department were dispatched to a warehouse located across from the Igloo Inn which was completely engulfed in flames.
The warehouse was owned by Bromley and Son Ltd.
Five Fire division units and 21 firefighters were dispatched to the scene. Crews made several attempts to enter the building, but were unsuccessful because of extreme heat, high flames and thick smoke. A decision was then made to fight the fire from the exterior of the building.
Jeff Molnar, night auditor for the Igloo Inn, witnessed the fire from the second floor of the motel.
"The flames were pretty high."
Firefighters battled the blaze for six and a half hours.
A news release from the Yellowknife Fire Department stated fire fighters encountered several problems while trying to get the fire under control. Extreme temperatures resulted in pump and hoseline freeze-ups and at least one firefighter has been treated for frostbite.
"It looked like they were having trouble getting water from the truck and having trouble getting the fire hydrants to work," said Molnar.
The flames were so high, Molnar was sure one of the neighbouring buildings was going to catch fire as well.
"I thought Premier Mechanical was going to go up for sure and the trailer next to it looked like it was in danger too."
The warehouse was located directly behind Premier Mechanical Ltd.
Molnar said an ambulance was on the scene, but he is unsure whether there were any injuries.
Once the fire was ruled under control the building was levelled by a loader and crews worked to extinguish the hot spots.
Structural damage is estimated at $40,000 and contents destroyed are valued at $20,000. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Attempts to contact deputy fire chief Mike Lowing
were unsuccessful by press time. Other members of the Yellowknife Fire Department were unable to comment on any details of the fire.
