Yellowknife (Mar 16/05) - A Yellowknife firefighter is dead and another is in critical condition after a fire at the saw shop in the Home Building Centre on Old Airport Road.

Fire and police services were called around 7 a.m. Thursday to a fire which started in the saw shop at the side of the building.

Around 7:20 a.m., eyewitnesses say four firefighters carried a chainsaw, axe, and a shovel up a ladder to the roof of the approximately 15-foot high extension.

J.P. Landry was stepping out of his car after arriving for work at Canadian Tire at about 7:20 a.m.

"When I pulled in there were four firefighters up there with axes. It looked like they were cutting a hole through the roof," Landry said.

"One of them was on his knees, he made a couple of passes at it with a chainsaw. Then all of a sudden the roof was obscured by smoke."

While the roof was gone, a ladder at the front of the shed remained, Landry said.

The Workers' Compensation Board, the fire marshall, and the RCMP are investigating the cause of the fire, according to city officials. The names of the men are not being released until the family has been contacted.