Fitzgerald Carpeting 'contained a large fire load,' says fire marshal

A fire destroyed Fitzgerald Carpeting at 304 Woolgar Ave. in Yellowknife on Sunday night.

The business, which sells and installs flooring, has been in the community for over 35 years. An apartment suite in the top floor of the building was also destroyed.

Chucker Dewar, fire marshal for the Northwest Territories, says he believes the fire started at about 10 p.m. Sunday night. Nobody was injured, and the buildings surrounding the fire were saved by local firefighters.

"This building contained a large fire load," said Dewar. "It contained carpeting, textiles, and lots of glues. Things that are very flammable.

"So, in fires such as that, we expect rapid fire spread and growth. That's probably why the fire was in such an advanced stage when the fire department got on scene."

• View footage of the fire as it burned

Firefighters were still on the scene Monday morning as the fire continued to burn. Dewar says his office is currently interviewing staff and owners of Fitzgerald Carpeting in an attempt to determine what caused the fire. 

"There is currently a  backhoe on the scene stripping away sections of the building," Dewar said Monday morning. "They are trying to protect the area of origin where they think the fire may have started, but there is fire that has entered concealed spaces on the building which presents some challenges to the fire department."

Mary-Ellen Savard, the co-owner of Fitzgerald Carpeting, said the business had no comment at this time other than to confirm that there were no injuries in the fire.