Fort Providence (Jan 07/05) - The only tenant inside a Fort Providence house devastated by fire fled to safety through a bedroom window on Jan. 2.

The cause of the blaze was still unknown as of Monday. Due to the severe damage, the source of ignition may never be determined, but foul play has been ruled out, according to RCMP Cpl. Rob Harkin. He noted that the investigation is centered around a wood stove that was installed a few weeks ago.

"Whether that actually caused it or not, we don't know," he said.

A neighbour, Gavin Head, alerted authorities to the blaze around 3 a.m.

The lone tenant in the Roman Catholic parish residence reportedly awoke to the smoky haze and escaped through a bedroom window with only minor cuts to his hand.

Harkin and Const. J.M. Sauve praised the Fort Providence volunteer fire department for its efforts on the -30C night.

Fire chief Andy Sapp said despite the brigade's 11-minute response time, the residence was fully engulfed in flames by the time they arrived with the pumper truck.

"The roof was suspect for collapse so we let it collapse and put it out... it was a total loss," Sapp said, adding that it took approximately an hour and a half to get the flames under control.

The resident, in his 30s, was hired by the church in September. In exchange for room and board, he was performing maintenance work and acting as caretaker of the one-level, two-bedroom residence, said Gilles Paquin, business manager for the Roman Catholic diocese in Yellowknife.

"I was satisfied with having someone fixing it," said Paquin, who added that the building had been uninhabited for close to 10 years prior to September.

He said he didn't know whether the house was equipped with active smoke detectors or whether any contents of sentimental value were lost in the fire. The most important thing, he said, is that the tenant survived.

Among those responding to the call were firefighters Kelvin McLeod, Malcolm Tosh, Larry Major, Paul Wilson and Jonathan Minoza. Sapp noted that department has 12 members at full strength, but a number of volunteers were away on holidays when the incident occurred.

Water truck drivers Bernard Bonnetrouge and Noel Bonnetrouge also lent a hand.

As well, Serge Levavasseur, electrician Jim Thom and nurse Jeannie Mills played supporting roles, according to the RCMP.