Fire destroys RV along Highway 3
Officials say cause unlikely to be investigated
Joseph Tunney
Northern News Services
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The cause of an RV fire along Highway 3 early Friday morning will likely remain undetermined.
"When (structures are) burnt to the ground they already become a difficulty to investigate the area of origin and the point of origin and the whole cause," fire chief Darcy Hernblad said.
"Then the determination has to be, 'Is it worth it for something with such a low, low dollar value? How much effort do you want to put into it to be concrete on determining the cause of the fire?'"
Hernblad said the file for this fire has been moved the office of the fire marshal, as the blaze happened approximately eight kilometres outside city limits.
Fire marshal Chucker Dewar said because of the RV's low dollar value -approximately $500 - and the fact nobody was injured in the blaze, it is not worth the resources it would take to investigate.
However, Hernblad said the owner of the trailer said he suspects somebody burned it down.
"The owner did give us an indication that he felt somebody might have done this to his place because of an unpaid bill," Hernblad said. "To be honest, there is a good likelihood it won't get looked at."
Dewar agreed.
"If arson is suspected we would need evidence related to that to notify the RCMP," said Dewar.
"We don't have anything at this point besides what the owner stated."
Dewar said the owner of the trailer could need to go directly to the RCMP and report an arson as well.
While not certain, Hernblad said he believed the trailer was used for trapping in the winter months and Dewar said he believed the trailer had been unoccupied for a few days before the fire.
According to a news release from the city, the Yellowknife Fire Division arrived to the scene with a fire engine, ambulance and five firefighters at approximately 2:10 a.m. after receiving a call reporting smoke along Highway 3.
There, crews found the RV fully involved, with the possibility of further damage being done to the nearby forest and several propane tanks.
"(The tanks) were four or five feet away from where the fire is burning," Hernblad said.
"In this case, (crews) were able to get the propane tanks away."
He said the trees were close enough to the blaze the firefighters had to ensure the nearby forestation was soaked.
The fire was brought under control within an hour of arrival and there were no injuries reported.
Ten Yellowknife Fire Division personnel responded to the fire, along with one command vehicle, one tanker and one utility vehicle.
The RCMP also attended to manage traffic control.
