A woman who was rescued from a third floor unit where the fire is believed to have started was listed in serious condition at Stanton Territorial Hospital Monday afternoon. - Shane Magee/NNSL photo |
'Suspicious' fire cause may never be known
Woman in serious condition at hospital; pinpointing cause may be impossible: fire marshal
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Trying to determine the exact cause of a fire that destroyed the Polaris apartment building downtown over the weekend may be impossible, according to the NWT fire marshal.
Flames engulf unit 306 at the Polaris apartment building as a firefighter waits for his hose to fill with water. - Evan Kiyoshi French/NNSL photo |
"The suspected area of origin has been destroyed and manipulated to the point where an investigation of the physical evidence ... has been destroyed as a result of the fire," said Chucker Dewar Monday.
The fire marshal, responsible for investigating the cause and origin of fires in the territory, would normally look for burn patterns and any residual flammable liquids to help determine a cause, he said.
"It's highly unlikely," Dewar responded when asked if he believes the cause will ever be determined.
"We still are investigating and we still are open to the public providing any information in relation to the cause and origin of the fire."
RCMP stated in a news release that officers are treating the fire as "suspicious." Const. Elenore Sturko would not elaborate Monday on why police think it is suspicious.
A woman who was rescued from a third floor unit where the fire is believed to have started was listed in serious condition at Stanton Territorial Hospital Monday afternoon, according to Damien Healy, spokesperson for the territorial government's health and social services department.
Three RCMP officers were transported to Stanton and treated for smoke inhalation, Sturko stated.
Fire Chief Darcy Hernblad held a news conference at city hall Monday afternoon and confirmed the fire started in unit 306.
"It was what we call a room-and-contents fire so as the firefighters made their way up to the third floor where the smoke was they could pretty much tell by fire coming out the bottom of the door and windows that it had started in unit 306," Hernblad said.
Dennis Marchiori, the city's public safety director, could not say whether the lone person who was hurt in the fire was conscious when she was rescued.
"When they opened the door there was a lot of smoke in the room, so there was probably a severe case of smoke inhalation," Marchiori. "We took her by ambulance to hospital."
No firefighters were injured, Marchiori said.
"Most of them go in with breathing apparatuses and I believe the RCMP went to hospital to have themselves checked and from what I understand all of those members are home now," Marchiori said.
Both Marchiori and Hernblad confirmed that emergency crews have been called many times to that building before but they would not confirm if they had previously been at unit 306.
Police would not say whether they had been called to the building in the past.
Yellowknifer archives show a man was found dead in the building under suspicious circumstances in 2003.
