Firefighters respond to vehicle fire outside of courthouse

Firefighters responded to a vehicle fire in the parking lot outside of Yellowknife’s courthouse on Monday afternoon.

Around 1:20pm, firefighters and an ambulance were seen outside of the courthouse as a plume of smoke poured out of the vehicle. Municipal enforcement staff directed vehicles while a section of 49 Street outside of the courthouse was blocked to traffic. 

By 1:40pm the fire appeared to have been extinguished, as the damaged vehicle was still gently smoking and firefighters were preparing to leave the scene.

According to the NWT Department of Justice, the vehicle belonged to a staff member.

In a press release on Monday, RCMP said officers were on patrol in the area of the courthouse when they saw a vehicle on fire and called the Yellowknife Fire Division for help.

The Department of Justice said staff and members of the public were evacuated from the courthouse.

The courthouse will resume operations as usual on Tuesday, March 1.  Anyone who was scheduled to appear in court on Monday, is asked to contact the court registry on Tuesday morning about their matters being rescheduled. 

Police said the fire is not considered suspicious in nature and no injuries were reported.

This is the second time this month a vehicle has caught fire outside of the courthouse in Yellowknife. In an earlier incident on February 14, a vehicle belonging to the sheriff’s office was destroyed by a fire.

The NWT fire marshal said that fire likely started in the vehicle’s engine. RCMP said the fire was not considered suspicious in nature. 

The incident on February 14 caused minor smoke and heat damage to the exterior of the courthouse. No injuries were reported.

The NWT fire marshal has previously told Cabin Radio vehicle fires are common in the winter when people plug in their vehicles and conditions are hard on equipment.

Ollie Williams contributed reporting.