Fire razes Iqaluit elementary school

KIRSTEN MURPHY

Nunavut’s department of education is scrambling to find classrooms for about 200 students displaced by a fire that destroyed Iqaluit’s Joamie School last week.

Fire ripped through the 14-year-old building on July 4. Officials are still investigating the cause of the blaze. No one was injured.

“We have a short window to deal with this, which is why it’s a priority,” said Pam Hine, deputy minister for the department of education.

“We’re still looking at all our options.”

Iqaluit’s remaining schools, including Ecole des Trois Soleils, Nanook School and Arctic College, are potential locations.

Rebuilding the structure will cost about $10 million, Hine said, adding the figure is a preliminary estimate. Construction could begin this summer, but a new structure won’t be ready in time for the new school year.

“We need to start bringing in resources like desks and books so we can get as close to a September start as possible,” she said.

“It’s not going to affect [jobs] other than it’s going to add to teachers’ workloads,” Hine said.

Iqaluit MLAs want construction to begin immediately.

“As a parent myself, I recognize the need to move quickly. I would like to see construction begin this summer,” said Iqaluit Centre MLA Hunter Tootoo.

Eyewitnesses said the fire began under the gym around 5:30 Friday morning. Five hours later, orange flames and plumes of black smoke were billowing from the school.

“We’re still trying to find out how it got away from us,” said Cory Chegwyn, Iqaluit’s fire chief.

Teachers, students and parents stood behind yellow police tape and watched dumbfounded as their school was engulfed in amber flames. Anne Marlene Kilabuk comforted her sobbing daughter, Katrina, who just completed Grade 3 at the school.

About three million litres of water were used to battle the blaze, said Bob Brouillet, a water treatment plant operator for the City of Iqaluit.

The city issued a 24-hour water-conservation order on the heels of the fire to allow the system to replenish itself.

The pale blue building overlooking Frobisher Bay was the first school in Nunavut recognized for “going green” – a nationally recognized environmental initiative.

Among the many items lost in the fire were principal David Serkoak’s Inuit drum collection. Serkoak was out of town on July 4.

Losing a school to fire is something Donald Mearns knows about. The vice-principal of Attagoyuk School in Pangnirtung watched his school burn to the ground in 1997.

To add insult to injury, Attagoyuk School was only a week away from re-opening after two years of renovations.

“Watching your school burn is up there with losing a relative or friend, it’s that kind of loss. All your memories, resources and ties to the school go up in smoke. I really hope the powers that be give the teachers the support they need,” Mearns said.

The Pangnirtung fire was caused by an electrical problem. The community coped by setting up classrooms in the elementary school, Arctic College and empty homes.

In 1998, Cambridge Bay lost its school to arson. A new $17-million school opened there in 2002.