Yellowknife (July 21/06) - Arson is the suspected cause of a fire that gutted a two-storey wooden playhouse in the backyard of a Finlayson Drive residence on Monday afternoon.

Neighbourhood kids who reported the fire told the owners they saw a boy running out of the playhouse about five minutes before the fire started.

Lloyd Whiteford stands next to the remains of a two-storey playhouse he built for his two children about nine years ago. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. - Jessica Gray/NNSL photo

"My son just happened to be home," said Lloyd Whiteford, the man who built the playhouse.

"The firefighters said they saw some debris on the floor (of the playhouse)," he said. "Maybe that's how it started."

Acting fire chief Darcy Hernblad said the department isn't sure how the fire was started, but said it wasn't caused by power lines or heating sources because there were none in the playhouse.

"What we do know is that somebody was seen around (the playhouse) before the fire and then seen running away after," said Hernblad.

Eight firefighters and two fire trucks responded to the call just before 5 p.m. Hernblad said the fire fighters were able to get the blaze under control quickly.

The playhouse was two-storeys tall and made out of plywood. It had an old couch and turf covering the ground level floor. Mattresses for sleepovers were on the second floor.

The fire that destroyed the playhouse also ruined a large section of the wooden fence surrounding the properties and several small trees. The fire also melted off the siding of a small shed a few metres from the blaze.

Whiteford said the fire was so high it melted cable lines, interrupting his neighbour's cable service for a few hours.

Whiteford built the playhouse for his two children who are now 13 and 15.

While his children don't use it much any more, there are several kids who like to hang out there.

Whiteford said he tries his best to keep the doors to the playhouse locked, but just a few weeks ago some kids broke one of the plexiglass windows.

Whiteford said the playhouse, cordoned off with yellow police tape, is a hazard. He's waiting for his insurance company to finish the audit to see what kind of damages he can claim.

The playhouse originally cost between $3,000 and $4,000 to build.

Hernblad said the fire department estimates the total property damage at about $5,000.