Woman rescued from house fire
Victim plucked from second-story deck by firefighters in Saturday morning blaze
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A woman was taken to hospital after a house fire on Williams Avenue Saturday morning.
Black soot can been seen above a deck and outside a window at a home on Williams Avenue damaged by fire Saturday morning. - John McFadden/NNSL photo |
Her condition has not been disclosed but she appeared unconscious in a video posted to Facebook as two firefighters struggled to bring the woman down a ladder to safety from a second floor deck. Thick smoke billowed from a sliding glass door leading to the deck and a window on the second floor.
At one point the video shows an onlooker jumping in to try to help firefighters rescue the victim. According to a city news release, a call to the fire department came in just before 10 a.m. for a structure fire at 663 Williams Ave. near Bigelow Crescent. Upon arrival, firefighters saw a lone female occupant standing on a second story deck, according to the news release.
The woman was taken to Stanton Territorial Hospital for observation. Her condition was unknown as of press time.
According to the city spokesperson Nalini Naidoo, 16 emergency personnel responded to the fire which was deemed under control less than 45 minutes after firefighters were dispatched to the scene. Damage has been pegged at $120,000, according to the city. A large metal bin which had been placed outside the home was filled with damaged furniture when Yellowknifer visited the scene yesterday. The home is located at the back of a townhouse complex. Dark soot marked the spots where smoke had billowed from the second floor.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, according to the city.
