Blaze damages Iqaluit duplex

IQALUIT — An Iqaluit family is homeless after a fire broke out in their housing unit on Monday.

At 1:25 p.m. a neighbour spotted smoke coming out of a window at House 143 B and called the fire department.

No one was home at the time of the fire.

People gathered near the duplex, located in the south end of Iqaluit, and watched as smoke billowed out of the kitchen window. Moments later the window cracked and fell to the ground.

Two fire trucks arrived on the scene and the blaze was put out in less than five minutes, said Neville Wheaton, Iqaluit’s fire chief.

The housing-authority unit suffered both fire and smoke damage.

“The fire was contained to one corner of the kitchen,” Wheaton said. “There was extensive damage to the cupboards and to whatever was in the cupboards. There was heat and smoke damage to the rest of the building.”

Wheaton said the cause of the fire hasn’t been determined. But it’s suspected that one of the kitchen appliances may have caught on fire.

Wheaton said some of those appliances have been sent to an electrical inspector to see if they’re to blame.

Because of the smoke and fire damage the family has been moved to a local hotel until another housing unit can be found.

“It’s not going to be lived in anytime in the near future,” said Susan Spring, director of the Iqaluit housing authority.

“We’re scrambling around to find a unit,” she said. Spring wouldn’t say how many people lived in the damaged dwelling, though she did say the family requires a three-bedroom unit.

No official damage estimates have been released. But Wheaton says an initial estimate puts the damage at $5,000.

The other side of the duplex suffered some minor damages. Spring said there was some smoke damage and the unit will require a paint job.