Firefighter Derek Kremski was one of four from the Yellowknife Fire Department to douse a smouldering fire near the Pat McMahon Frame Lake Trail on Nov. 16. - Aaron Beswick/NNSL photo

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Squatter or spontaneous peat combustion?

The cause didn't matter to the Yellowknife firefighters who showed up to douse the smouldering peat off the Pat McMahon Frame Lake Trail near Matonabee Street on Nov. 16.

"We don't know how long that was burning or what was the cause," said Jason Davidson, deputy fire chief - employee safety and training. "Someone walking by called us after noticing a burning smell. That person had noticed the smell a few days earlier as well."

Davidson said it's possible the fire could have been caused by spontaneous combustion caused by heat created during natural composting processes in the peat or could have been the result of a bonfire.

Regardless, "We just went out and took care of it," he said.

The four firefighters cut a hole in the ice on Frame Lake and ran a hose from a pump to the approximately 200 square-foot area they dug up and doused with water.

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