Early-morning fire torches Navigator staff house

KIRSTEN MURPHY

Twenty firefighters and 70,000 litres of water were not enough save a two-unit staff house in downtown Iqaluit.

The one-story bungalow beside First Steps Daycare went up in flames just before 6 a.m. on Feb. 19. Johanne Beaudett, manager of the Navigator Inn, and a male employee occupying the other unit, were not home when the blaze started.

“We’re fine,” said Beaudett, who is now staying in temporary accommodations provided by her employer.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, said Iqaluit fire chief Cory Chegwyn.

“We’re not ready to release a cause or an origin yet. We haven’t ruled anything out,” Chegwyn said.

Water used to extinguish the blaze formed a moat around the charred house. The slippery conditions made it difficult for emergency officials to get around without wiping out.

“I don’t think there was anybody who didn’t fall to the point where their legs went right up over their heads,” Chegwyn said.

The exceptionally hot fire, as Chegwyn called it, was contained by 8 a.m. The -30 ° temperatures resulted in another set of safety problems.

“We had equipment freeze ups and delays. The guys became encased in ice so their mobility was hampered. Cold was definitely a factor,” Chegwyn said, adding the delays did not compromise firefighting.

“The weather made it uncomfortable and a lot more effort and a lot more time consuming.”

The neighbouring daycare was closed for the morning due to the amount of smoke in the air. The center re-opened in the afternoon.

At presstime, members of Iqaluit’s Rotary Club were planning to start an emergency fund for the displaced employees.