Yellowknife (Feb 03/06) - A garage fire caused $50,000 damage in a house garage on Rivett Crescent early Thursday morning.

Three individuals inside the house fled uninjured, although one was transported to Stanton Territorial Hospital with minor respiratory problems.

A smoke detector awoke the three at about 2:45 a.m., said Chucker Dewar, deputy fire chief of the Yellowknife Fire Department.

"There was heavy smoke coming from inside the garage," Dewar said of the circumstances firefighters found at the fire.

The occupants were alerted when they heard a crackling sound behind the door leading to the garage.

Firefighters were on the scene for 1.5 hours with additional members called to help out. Crews used the thermal imaging camera to check if the fire went into the house, but detected nothing.

"The fire is under investigation, but suspected as being electrical in nature," Dewar said.