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Three fires in Yk over the weekend

By Andrew Livingstone
Northern News Services
Published Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Yellowknife firefighters had their hands full last weekend with three separate fires, two coming less than half an hour apart Sunday evening.

NNSL Photo/Graphic

Flames burst from the back end of a trailer on Fairchild Avenue in Northland trailer park Sunday evening. No injuries were sustained during the blaze. - Andrew Livingstone/NNSL photo

Firefighters responded to a blaze at the Northland trailer park around 8 p.m. where smoke was seen billowing out of the front and back windows of a trailer on Fairchild Ave.

Nineteen firefighters were on scene within five minutes of the call and managed to contain the blaze.

"The cause of the fire was an unattended candle left in the bedroom, " said fire chief Albert Headrick.

"They were legally staying there and were in the process of moving out. They were winterizing it and getting ready to shut it down."

The trailer had no electricity.

The biggest concentration of heat and smoke was found in a middle bedroom but Headrick said the entire trailer was damaged.

"It's hard to tell with an older trailer but we're looking at a conservative figure of $75,000 to $100,000 in damage to the unit," he said.

Less than a half hour before the call went out for the Fairchild Ave. fire, firefighters fought a small fire in a work shed at 155 Curry Drive.

"It was a garage type work shed, approximately 40 feet by 20 feet," said deputy fire chief Darcy Hernblad. "It started right around where the chimney pipe went up the right side of the building."

Fire chief Albert Headrick said the fire was caused by improper insulation for a wood stove in the building.

"It was mostly situated in the attic area and we caught it in time, about $1,000 damage," Headrick said.

The third fire of the weekend was in a garbage bin on Woolgar Avenue late Saturday evening in an industrial area on the street. The fire was contained to the garbage bin.

"We don't know what caused it to catch fire, but minimal damage was caused to the bin," said Headrick.

No one was injured in any of the fires.