You may have seen the news circulating around the web about one unfortunate houseboater’s vessel going up in flames early Friday morning at Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. According to My Yellowknife Now, firefighers had to cross the water by boat in order to fight the fire that was consuming the houseboat. The crews told Moose FM that the vessel was unoccupied when they arrived and no injuries were reported.

The RCMP reportedly released a statement late Friday morning, saying, “The fire is not considered suspicious and it is suspected to have been caused by a propane heater.”

The city’s fire division likewise stated, “The fire was confined to the single houseboat. The occupant of the houseboat could not be located at the scene during the time of the fire, but was confirmed safe at another unknown houseboat location.”

Adele Sheldon shared this video clip of the houseboat fire on Facebook, showing the unfortunate damage caused by the fire.

As My Yellowknife Now reported, it was very fortunate that no one was onboard or injured during the blaze, and that the damage was isolated to only one houseboat. This serves as a reminder to be careful if you have propane heaters onboard, and to turn them off if possible whenever you leave your houseboat. As fellow houseboaters, we can also take comfort in the fact that those around us have got our backs. If you ever see anything dangerous going on, summon the help needed to make sure everyone stays safe. If we live up to the houseboater’s creed of helping dockmates everywhere, we can take a part in ensuring that anytime there’s an accident, there’s another happy ending in that no one gets hurt.

Photo credited to Leslie Straker.