Iqaluit’s first school a pile of charred wreckage

Firefighters carry hoses past the burning shell of the former Sir Martin Frobisher federal day school in Apex Oct. 4. The fire forced nearby Nanook school to close and power to the surrounding neighbourhood to be briefly shut off. (PHOTO BY CHRIS WINDEYER)

An old, run-down building with a decidedly mixed history, what was once the Apex federal day school is now a pile of charred wreckage.

Witnesses said the fire appeared to start around 10 a.m. in the old wooden building, located next door to Nanook School. By 10:30, Iqaluit firefighters were battling the blaze using both hoses and pumper trucks.

No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is so far unknown. The RCMP is investigating.

Chris Wilson, Iqaluit’s director of emergency and protective services, said the building is completely destroyed.

“She just has to be knocked down and cleaned up,” he said.

Wilson said the building was well-built and burned slowly. And while huge plumes of smoke could be seen billowing out of the fire, Wilson said the smoke, while smelly, would likely be less harmful than smoke coming from “the synthetics of modern construction.”

Mat Knickelbein, and Iqaluit city councillor and principal of Nanook School, said students were sent home shortly after the fire started.

“(We sent kids home) just because of the proximity of the fire and the amount of emergency vehicles,” he said. “It wasn’t safe to have the kids around.”

Two fire trucks were on scene, along with police and other emergency vehicles. A city water truck was making runs to a nearby booster station and filling a huge portable tub with water to douse the flames.

QEC spokesman George Hicks said the utility cut power to approximately 25 per cent of Apex because there are transformers near the fire site. He said power was restored by early afternoon.

Apex residents Jacopoosie Peter and Sytukie Joamie stood and watched the fire gut the former school.

Peter said the building was closed as a school by the former Baffin Divisional Board of Education in 1992. He said it served several functions over the years, as a resource centre and home to the local women’s auxiliary.

Joamie recalled going to the school in 1963, when he still carried his e-number, E6-853. He said watching the old schoolhouse burn down brought mixed feelings: there he was barred by teachers from speaking Inukitut, but also gained an education.

“I’m not going to cry over it, because I cried enough in there already.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the school as the Sir Martin Frobisher federal day school. We apologize for the error.