The Saskatoon Fire Department says a fire that destroyed a house and garage in the city’s Pacific Heights neighbourhood was caused by an unattended open-air fire pit.

The fire that occurred in the 300 block of Johnson Crescent on Saturday shortly after 1 a.m. started from an illegal container without a screen, quickly spread to a nearby garage and then extended to the house.

The Saskatoon Fire Department is now distributing information packages to over a 100 homes in the neighbhourhood. Fire officials say the fire was preventable and information on firepits can be found here.

The man and woman that live there were not home at the time. Two dogs were found dead by the fire crew. The house and garage are considered a complete loss with damage estimated at $400,000.