Yellowknife Women's Society looking for good Samaritan who helped put out daycare fire

Staff at the Yellowknife Women's Society are looking for the good Samaritan who helped put out a fire at the organization's daycare Wednesday.

Just after noon, staff at the downtown daycare smelled smoke and immediately began looking for the cause. When one of the staff opened the upstairs bathroom door, she saw flames.

"So she quickly shut the door and then she started notifying the staff. It was around the time all the kids were down for a nap so they had to wake them all up," said Renee Sanderson, the society's executive director.

As the building was being evacuated, Sanderson said a man in the Victorian Suites apartment behind the daycare saw the commotion. The man opened the door to the building and invited some of the children and staff to stay warm inside.   

Sanderson said the man then went over to the daycare.

"He was able to get a fire extinguisher and put out the flames in the bathroom," she said. 

In the chaos of fire crews arriving, staff weren't able to get the man's name.

"If anyone knows who this individual was, please make contact with us. We'd really love to connect with them and show them how thankful and appreciative we are for their quick actions in this situation," Sanderson said. 

Sanderson said it's unclear what caused the fire but that it was contained to the upstairs bathroom. The amount of damage isn't yet known, but Sanderson said the structure is sound.

The society is currently looking for a new space while the building is repaired. Twenty-two kids from infant to preschool age use the daycare, though Sanderson said it is closed Thursday and Friday.

"Thank you to the fire crews for showing up really quick … thank you to the community who have reached out asking who they can help. We've had different organizations calling and offering their spaces," Sanderson said.

"This is the whole reason why I love Yellowknife. When something like this happens everyone jumps on and reaches out. It's really appreciated."