12 homes burned down in Yellowknife Garden Townhomes fire
CBC
A fire that broke out in Yellowknife on Saturday morning in the Garden Townhomes complex beside Capital Suites hotel has destroyed 12 townhomes.
According to Yellowknife's economic director Kerry Thistle, no one was injured in the fire and no other structures were damaged.
Garden Townhomes is a Northview-owned complex of 48 three-bedroom units spread across several buildings. Saturday's fire destroyed one building in the complex, which contained units 13-24.
Thistle said the cause of the fire is not known, but an inspector from the territory's Office of the Fire Marshall will conduct an investigation into how the fire started.
According to the City, the Yellowknife Fire Department first got a call about the fire at 8:52 a.m. this morning warning of a fire at the building.
Sarah Kennedy lives in another Garden Townhomes building on the other side of Capital Suites hotel, and first went out to investigate the fire at around 9:00 a.m., after her husband saw it while walking their dogs.
"It was really small when we first came out to see it. You could barely see any flames and it was only in one unit," she said.
By around 9:30 a.m. the fire had grown to impact several units. Two fire trucks were at the scene fighting the fire, and police and bylaw officers were directing cars away from Franklin Avenue.
At 11:30 a.m., three fire trucks were parked on Franklin Avenue to battle the fire, which appeared to have spread across the whole building. An excavator was also at the scene and appeared to be demolishing part of the building.
By around 2:45 p.m., the building was no longer standing.
Linay Frida, vice-president of operations at Northview, told CBC by email that residents who lost their homes in the fire have been provided with temporary accommodations at the Capital Suites hotel next door. She did not say how long temporary accommodations would be provided.
For Kennedy, watching the fire consume the building so close to her home was "nerve-wracking."
"It seems to have moved slower than we thought it would, but it's still too close for comfort," she said.