Young man charged with setting fire inside Nunavut fire hall

A fire Aug. 30 in the Kugaaruk fire hall caused up to $30,000 in damages, but the Kitikmeot community’s fire truck, which helped fight the Feb. 28 Kugaardjuq School fire, survived. (PHOTO BY VINCENT NINGARK)

A young Taloyoak man is in custody following an afternoon fire that police believe was deliberately set inside the Kugaaruk fire hall Aug. 28.

The Nunavut RCMP charged Barney Igutsaq, 21, on Aug, 30. with break, enter and arson.

“The fire department was able to quickly extinguish the fire and limit the damage to the unoccupied building,” the RCMP said in a release Aug. 31.

The fire, which was lit from inside, initially went unnoticed until smoke started billowing outside the building, Kugaaruk Fire Chief Vincent Ningark told Nunatsiaq News Aug. 31.

“The fire extinguisher got so hot it exploded. That bought us some time to extinguish the fire completely,” he said.

The emergency tool had been hanging on the wall inside the garage and when it exploded, its contents helped to douse the flames.

The small fire hall houses one fire truck and all fire equipment used in the community of about 900.

“It would have been worse if we didn’t have the fire extinguisher by the front door where the fire was located,” Ningark said. “The fire extinguisher exploded in time for us to take the truck out.”

A specialist visited the community Aug. 31 to go over the vehicle and check for damages.

“The truck is in good shape and still operating,” Ningark said.

It was the same fire truck used this winter when an overnight fire, also caused by arson, destroyed the community’s only school.

The fire truck is now parked at the hamlet garage until repairs can be done in the next few weeks. The fire caused electrical damage and damage to the building’s insulation.