Whitehorse Fire Department platoon chief Bob Jacobs is assessing the fire damage to a house at 802 Wheeler St. at $90,000.

While some would repair the house after Sunday's fire, Jacobs said today that financially, it may not be worth fixing.

The blaze started in the basement, with flames and smoke going through walls and up into the roof.

The fire department got the call about the blaze at 12:14 p.m.

Heather Kennedy lives in a neighbouring home and made the 911 call about the fire. She said this morning she was making tea when she saw a big puff of black smoke between the house and shed on the property.

'It's an old, old house,' Kennedy said.

She called 911, and when she looked out again, there was more smoke coming from the basement.

'It was just black,' she said.

She called 911 again, but the fire trucks were already on their way and arrived probably within four minutes of her first call, she said.

While the blaze was under control within approximately 25 minutes, Jacobs said, the fire trucks weren't back in service until about 4:40 p.m.

'There was a lot of smoldering,' he explained.

From the preliminary investigation, Jacobs said, it appears the blaze was caused by a torch that was being used earlier in the day to repair waterlines in the basement.

There were no injuries, though, because no one was in the house at the time.