Child with lighter sets home ablaze

A fire last week in Salluit was a tragic event with a happy result: local firefighters kept the dangerous fire under control, and no one was seriously injured.

On the morning of Sept. 26, an accidental fire caused the home of Moses Padlayat to fill with smoke. A young child had been playing with a lighter in one of the upstairs bedrooms of the four-bedroom duplex, said Michael Cameron, mayor of Salluit and acting chief of the community’s fire brigade.

Alerted to the fire, Padlayat made sure his wife and child left the home. Then, he went back upstairs to make sure two daughters and a friend, who were still sleeping, woke up and left the building.

Cameron said firefighters arrived on the scene shortly after 11 a.m., four minutes after they received a call about the fire on the municipal frequency from a local water truck.

“By the time we got there, everybody was out,” Cameron said.

Firefighters concentrated on containing the fire before it spread. The duplex suffered water damage on the first floor and severe smoke damage on the second.

Five firefighters were involved in fighting this fire — some members of the brigade were attending a training course for firefighters in Inukjuak, another was at the Raglan mine and still another was not able to leave his post at the airport when the call went out.

But Cameron said Salluit is well-equipped to fight fires because there’s a strong mix of teamwork and equipment. Salluit has a new fire hall, fire truck, radio communication system and 10 devices to help firefighters breathe in smoke-filled buildings.

“We’re pretty well-developed compared to other communities,” Cameron said. “And I trust my firefighters anytime we have to go into a building. We’re very lucky with the team we have. They know what to do and they listen to the command very well.”

Padlayat received burns and damage from smoke inhalation. After arriving at the local health clinic, he required assistance to breathe and was med-evaced to Montreal for treatment. The three others, who had been sleeping when the fire broke out, were treated at Inuulitsivik Hospital in Puvirnituq.

By the end of the week, Padlayat was able to speak from his hospital bed by telephone on the community radio network.