Fire consumes Prelude cabin
Crews arrive to find structure already destroyed; cause not pinpointed
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Friday, April 22, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
There wasn't much firefighting to be done by the time Yellowknife firefighters got to a cabin on Prelude Lake on Wednesday evening.
A Yellowknife firefighter douses the remains of a cabin in Prelude Lake East area just after 6 p.m. on Wednesday. - Shane Magee/NNSL photo |
There was a set of stairs - the railing still smoking - that led only to embers. A back deck with a patio set overlooked the frozen lake.
"The structure was a total loss, it burned right to the ground," said NWT fire marshal Chucker Dewar, who added someone from his office was in the area and got to the scene before city firefighters.
The department was called to 6 Prelude Lake East, about a 35-minute drive from the city on the Ingraham Trail, at 5:12 p.m., responding with 10 firefighters, a pumper truck, ambulance and command vehicle.
A group of about a half dozen people watched and took photos as emergency crews dumped water and foam on the flames to put out the fire.
Dewar said neighbours were able to get a snowmobile and some propane tanks away from the structure as it burned.
"The incident concluded without injury to firefighters or the general public," the city stated in a press release issued Thursday.
The exact cause of the fire hasn't been determined.
"We weren't able to pinpoint the cause just due to the extent of the damage," Dewar said. It's not considered suspicious.
Based on interviews and photos it appears the fire began inside near a wood stove, Dewar said, adding an owner had been there to warm the cabin but wasn't there when the structure >caught on fire.
He said the investigation has essentially concluded.
The owners, who arrived after firefighters, declined to comment from the scene.
Dewar cautioned home and cabin owners to do safety inspections in their homes and cabins, ensuring stoves are serviced and maintained.
