Yellowknife's Sunridge Place apartments 'not habitable' after fire, city says

The City of Yellowknife says the Sunridge Place apartment complex is "not habitable for any occupants" after a fire on Thursday afternoon in one of the building's units.

In a news release on Friday afternoon, the city said the previous day's fire was contained to a single unit on the first floor of the three-storey building. No injuries were reported.

"The [Yellowknife Fire Department] quickly gained entry, extinguished the fire, and remained on scene for approximately three hours to ensure safety and security in the area," the city's release states.

The city has not said how many people have been displaced as a result of the fire. Friday's news release says the Yellowknife Housing Authority and Northview — the building's owner — were "coordinating efforts to ensure the well-being of affected tenants during this transition."

In an email to CBC News on Friday, Housing N.W.T. said it leases five units in the apartment complex for public housing. The agency also did not say how many of its clients were affected by Thursday's fire, but said Housing N.W.T. was responsible for "finding alternate accommodations for affected public housing tenants."

RCMP said on Friday there is so far "no indication of criminality" in connection with the fire, but said the Office of the Fire Marshal was responsible for investigating the cause of the blaze.

The territory's department of Municipal and Community Affairs later issued a statement saying that the city was actually responsible for the investigation. The city confirmed that the Yellowknife Fire Department was the lead agency investigating the cause of the fire.