Early morning fire destroys downtown Yellowknife heritage building

A fire in downtown Yellowknife early Monday morning has left a heritage building destroyed.

The building, on the corner of Franklin Avenue and 53 Street, went up in flames in the early hours Monday morning. Eyewitness accounts, including a video posted to Facebook Live and shared with CBC, show the fire engulfing the building at about 1 a.m.

Kieff Washie, who shot the video shared with CBC, said firefighters were able to extinguish the visible flames by about 2:30 a.m., and were still spraying the building.

No injuries have been reported yet, and the cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

The building was first built in 1946, according to a City of Yellowknife Heritage Committee document, and was formerly owned by prospector Chuck Vaydik.

Yellowknife RCMPconfirmed to CBCMonday morning that they were assisting the office of the fire marshall in investigating the fire, and that the investigation is ongoing.

CBChas reached out tothe City of Yellowknife for more information.