Multiple fires occurred in Yellowknife during the early hours of Saturday, Sept. 28. One family has lost their home, while another person has lost their vehicle.
In a statement to SA国际影视传媒, Keith Deans explained that he, his spouse and two children, along with two dogs, made it safely out of their townhome at the Borealis Housing Co-op near Finlayson Avenue. Deans added it was their neighbour who alerted them of the fire but what caused it remains a mystery.
"We are now just adjusting day-by-day to the change," said Deans. "We want to thank family and friends who have taken us in or have helped out by cooking, running errands, assisted with laundry, provided necessities that we lost," he added.
According to the city, when the Yellowknife Fire Division (YKFD) showed up to the scene, the crew noted a two story, five-unit, rowhouse complex showing smoke from the rear side. An evacuation was in progress, the city explained.
"The YKFD extinguished the fire and remained on the scene for two-and-a-half hours. Nobody was injured and the fire was contained to only one unit," the city said in a news release.
The fire didn't only burn the backside of the unit. Bicycles, a barbecue and a tree were either damaged in the fire or lost altogether.
A Gofundme page, "Help the Deans Family Rebuild After a Devastating House Fire," has been set up to help the family recover from the fire. The page has generated $150 in donations as of Tuesday morning.
The city said the NWT fire marshal is leading an investigation into the cause of the fire. The office will have its hands full, considering the fire marshal is also investing a vehicle fire that happened on the same day, earlier in the night.
At approximately 1:30 a.m. the city says YKFD responded to a vehicle fire at 784 Bigelow Crescent, which is one block over from Borealis Housing Co-op.
"On arrival to the scene, the crew noted a four-door GMC SUV was on fire. The YKFD extinguished the fire and remained on the scene for half an hour, no injuries were reported."
The distance between where the vehicle fire took place and house fire is about 350 metres.
