Nunavik hones in on fire prevention in the region

In this graph prepared by the Kativik Regional Government’s civil security section, you can see how the causes of 97 recordable fires in Nunavik from 2010-2011 break down. (IMAGE COURTESY OF THE KRG)

Home fires caused by matches and lighters or smoking accounted for most of Nunavik’s fires in 2010 and 2011.

“It’s such a common thing and it’s definitely preventable,” said Craig Lingard the Kativik Regional Government’s civil security section. “We try and educate, and we’re going to try and focus on those areas we can change.”

That 43 per cent of Nunavik’s fires occur in residential buildings and one in five of the region’s fires are due to improper handling of smoking materials are among the revelations contained in unofficial statistics prepared by the KRG’s new fire safety and prevention technician, Daniel Lambert

The statistics, presented at the recent meeting of the KRG council in Kuujjuaq, “will give us a great advantage” because that information can help decide where to put more effort into prevention and where resources are needed.

Among the other information gleaned from an analysis of recent fires in Nunavik:

• Nunavik saw 5.1 fires per 1,000 residents in 2011, compared to 2.9 per 1,000 in southern Quebec and 3.7 per 1,000 overall in Quebec communities with less than 5,000 people;

• the highest number of fires per 1,000 people in Nunavik can be found in Kuujjuaraapik (18.2 per 1,000 people), while in Kuujjuaq, with the most fires, the number per 1,000 people in 2011 was 5.9, close to the regional average;

• the average property losses per person in Nunavik were $326, compared to $71 in southern Quebec, where replacement costs are lower;

• there were 59 recordable fires in Nunavik in 2011, up from 38 in 2010.

• in 2011, Kuujjuaraapik saw 11 fires (mainly due to dump fires), Puvirnituq eight fires and Kuujjuaaq 14 fires;

• in 2011, Akulivik led the way with material losses of $1.7 million due to fire, from the loss of three homes and a power plant fire;

• total material losses for the region in 2011 stood at $3.8 million, but about two in three fires showed no losses at all;

• Nunavik sees the most fires in June and July; and,

• the leading causes of fire, apart from smoking-related causes, include human error, furnace trouble, dump fires, electrical short circuits and cooking fires.

Thanks to new money from Quebec, Nunavik is boosting its firefighter training and equipment.

New fire trucks and pumps have arrived in many Nunavik communities, as the region’s new $10-million fire safety cover plan is implemented. In 2011, fire trucks, worth a total of $1.3 million, arrived in Kuujjuaraapik, Inukjuak, Puvirnituq, Kangiqsualujjuaq and Salluit, where members of the local fire departments also received training on how to use the fire pump.

New fire halls have also gone up in Puvirnituq, Inukjuak and Kangiqsualujjuaq.

The plan also aims to train roughly 15 firefighters per Nunavik community over the next two years, or more than 200 across the region.

The first courses in the Fire Fighting 1 training program wrapped up at the end of November.

In Quebec’s smaller municipalities, with fewer than 25,000 residents, firefighters are supposed to complete this 275-hour training program to obtain their Firefighter I status.

“We’re getting closer to the end game — to be self-sufficient and be professionally trained,” Lingard said of these recent developments.

In this graph prepared by the Kativik Regional Government’s civil security section, you can see how where the 97 recordable fires in Nunavik in 2010 and 2011 took place. (IMAGE COURTESY OF THE KRG)