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'Scary how fast it went up'
Fire guts Demelt Crescent trailer; family wasn't home but dog reportedly inside

Candace Thomson
Northern News Services
Published Friday, September 6, 2013

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A home was destroyed at 179 Demelt Crescent after a fire ripped through a trailer Thursday evening.

NNSL photo/graphic

A fire destroyed a trailer home at 179 Demelt Crescent Thursday evening. A dog was reported to have been inside at the time and has not yet been found. - Candace Thomson/NNSL photo

Neighbours said a young couple and their two children were not home when the fire took place, but their dog was reported to have been inside at the time. As of press time, the dog has not been found.

The father-in-law of one of the homeowners reportedly called the fire department before alerting the owners at arounbd 7 p.m., who then raced to the scene, according to neighbours. Nearly 50 people gathered on the street to watch firefighters battle the flames.

One neighbour, who wished to remain anonymous, said he was on the scene before the fire department's arrival. He said the response time to the blaze seemed slow.

"I was there just after the fire department had been called and it took about eight minutes before I heard sirens," the neighbor said. "To me, it was about another 15 minutes once (firefighters) got there before they got water on – that's what it seemed like."

According to neighbours who had gathered on the street, the homeowner rushed to the trailer after the call from his father-in-law and tried to call the dog outside from the front door. He was brought away from the blaze by firefighters and took refuge in an ambulance.

"It's scary how fast it went up," said another neighbor. "It took me three minutes to run here and the house was in flames."

The cause of the fire is not known at this time. The Yellowknife fire department could not be reached for comment by press time.

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