Fire at Aurora Suites killed an occupant, officials confirm

A fire at Yellowknife’s Aurora Suites in the early hours of Saturday morning killed one of the building’s occupants, the City of Yellowknife confirmed on Monday.

Though the fire was contained within one of the 46th Street building’s 11 units, the NWT coroner’s office says a 55-year-old woman rescued from the complex later died from the injuries she sustained.

The identity of the woman has not been released as the coroner’s office works to notify her next of kin. A second individual was taken to hospital with minor injuries.

Firefighters did not receive an emergency call but were instead summoned to the building through an alarm company reporting alarms ringing at the building.

“On approach to the address, there was no smoke or fire showing. No evacuation had taken place,” read a City of Yellowknife statement issued on Monday. “Upon entry, firefighters evacuated the building and initiated an investigation to determine cause of the alarm.

“Light smoke was noted in a hallway. Further investigation found heavy smoke and sprinkler activation in one of the suites on the main floor.

“An occupant was rescued from the suite and transported to hospital where they succumbed to injuries sustained.”

Building operator YKD Property Management, which initially provided advice to residents on Facebook following the fire, has since deleted any reference to the incident from its page.

The cause of the fire is now under investigation. It followed a separate fire on Bigelow Crescent, which was extinguished by a resident before firefighters arrived.