The fire which destroyed a Yellowknife Bay houseboat overnight is not considered suspicious, RCMP said on Wednesday.
The houseboat, a little north of the mainland government dock near the Air Tindi floatbase, was wiped out by a fire which began just after 3am on Wednesday.
RCMP confirmed two people had safely escaped the burning building. The fire “was out of control when Yellowknife RCMP reached the area,” said police. Fire crews were also in attendance but their response was complicated by thinning ice on the bay, which allows access only by foot.
“Two occupants safely exited the burning structure. One occupant sustained a non-life threatening injury and was transported by emergency medical services to Stanton Territorial Hospital,” said RCMP.
Advertisement.
Advertisement.
“Yellowknife RCMP is assisting the Office of the Fire Marshal with the investigation, which is not deemed suspicious.”
By 6am on Wednesday, the houseboat appeared entirely destroyed with nothing visibly salvageable.
The cause of the fire was not immediately apparent.
An image taken shortly before 4am on May 15, 2019 shows a burning houseboat on Yellowknife Bay. Photo: Rob Osborne
Yellowknife Bay, including the remains of a houseboat which caught fire on May 15, 2019. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
A March 2019 image contributed to Google Streetview by Jason Simpson shows the houseboat before the fire, centre.
