DAWSON CITY – An ancient derelict house occupied by the late Jack Fraser and his family many years ago burned early last Saturday morning. It’s located at the corner of Front Street and Eighth Avenue.
According to Dawson fire chief Mike Masserey, a nearby neighbour saw the blaze and called the fire department at 4:27 a.m.
The chief was surprised and pleased to note that the first of three responding fire engines was there in about five minutes, battling the fire as soon as the crew could hook up to a nearby hydrant.
The volunteer fire department has a total of 26 members. Twenty-two of them showed up for the fire, which, since there was no danger to life, was a good practice run for the department.
The roof was already gone by the time the crew arrived. It became a question of tamping down the 40-foot flames and keeping it from spreading to the surrounding trees. Many of these were scorched by the heat but only one had to be taken down and extinguished.
Masserey described it as being a ”surround and ground” operation. There were so many trees that it was hard to get close. Eventually, one of the engines had to access a second nearby hydrant to get a different angle on the blaze.
Like a number of older Klondike buildings, it appears this one started out as a cabin to which additions were made later on.
The most recent addition, on the west side of the building, was clearly where the fire had started. The door to that room was open when the firefighters finally got to it.
Masserey speculates that someone living rough had gone in there to get out of the weather and had started a fire to keep warm.
The person may have fallen asleep and suddenly awakened to find he or she was in trouble. There was no sign of anybody there when the firefighters arrived.
Masserey said the Fraser family, which still owns the dwelling, will be cutting down the remainder of the trees and planning to do something with the lot. They had been intending to rehabilitate the old place, but that’s clearly out of the question now.