Nunavut fires killed one, caused more than $5 million worth of damage in 2014

Among the losses for 2014, a fire destroyed most of the interior of House 2551 in Iqaluit Feb. 4. (PHOTO BY DAVID MURPHY)

Nunavut firefighters responded to 134 fires across the territory in 2014 which killed one person and caused $5.41 million in damages, the Office of the Fire Marshal said in its annual report, tabled Nov. 3 in the territorial legislature.

Nunavut’s only 2014 fire death occurred in Iqaluit, when officers discovered a body among the debris left by a beachfront shack that caught fire Dec. 18.

That death was ruled not suspicious.

Eight other people in Nunavut, two with serious injuries, were hurt that year in fires.

The 134 reported fires for 2014 are the lowest the territory has seen in four years, and down from 161 in 2013 and 157 in 2012.

The $5.41 million damage toll rose from $4.38 million in 2013, but was still well below figures recorded in 2012 and 2011, which saw damages of $16.8 and $53.6 million respectively.

The big loss incurred in 2012 was due in part to the $9.2 million Creekside Village fire in Iqaluit, as well as a $4.6 million warehouse fire in Baker Lake.

In 2011, a 29-unit apartment building along the Road to Nowhere in Iqaluit had burned down in a single incident, contributing to the $24.6 million in damages recorded in Iqaluit that year.

Some other highlights of the Nunavut fire marshal’s 2014 report:

• 56 per cent of 2014’s fires occurred in residences and caused more than $3 million in damages;

• for yet another year, incendiary fires were the leading cause of reported fires, accounting for 44 per cent of all reported fires;

• 27 of the incendiary fires reported were suspicious in nature and caused $555,250 in damages — more than half of the year’s total dollar loss for incendiary fires at $959,805;

• smoker’s material — lit cigarettes, lighters — were directly connected to eight fires in the territory, amounting to a loss of $32,150; and,

• four incidents arising from suspected impairment by drugs or alcohol, contributing to $326,200 in losses.

The 2014 fire marshal’s report does not account for the fire that leveled Peter Pitseolak High School in Cape Dorset. That will be included in their 2015 report.