Shaun Nauyuk, left, and Sinisiaq Ikkidluak drop off winter boots at Joamie School Friday. The school is an item pick-up hub for families affected by the Noble House apartment fire on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. (Photo by Daron Letts)
‘For right now, we have everything we need’: Fire victim grateful for community help
Donations of clothing, housewares, and even diapers pour in to help 36 families affected by apartment fire; volunteers mobilize to search for accommodations
Less than 48 hours after fire destroyed their homes, some residents of the former Noble House apartment building say they’re getting the help they need — thanks to the community.
“Everyone is safe,” said Chad Mentus, whose family lived at 1088 Mivvik St., which was levelled Wednesday night.
“The community has really come together and, for right now, we have everything we need.”
Mentus expressed gratitude for the work done by Iqaluit Coun. Amber Aglukark and volunteer Corey Bell, who put together a maternity box for his pregnant girlfriend Anabel Lara Soto and their three-year-old child.

Joamie School hosts an item pick-up hub for families affected by the Noble House apartment fire on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. (Photo by Daron Letts)
“They’ve really made this process as comforting as possible for so many of us,” Mentus said. “Reaching out to us and making sure we had everything we needed.”
Rhonda Wiseman also lost her home in the fire, but said she has found a place to stay and a place to park.
She said she arrived home after work at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, around the same time the fire was being reported. She had time to gather a few things before she had to leave.
“I was in the parking lot with a few bags,” she said, describing her flight from the building.
Now Wiseman is staying in a neighbourhood near Joamie School. On Friday, the school served as a place for displaced residents to pick up new and nearly new clothing, housewares, staples and other household supplies — including a stack of 24 cases of diapers —donated by other Iqalummiut.
The pickup hub reached capacity Friday afternoon and stopped accepting donations of clothing.

Kabelo Mokoena, president of the African and Caribbean Association of Nunavut, says volunteers are getting some rest after helping find housing for people displaced by Wednesday’s apartment fire in Iqaluit. (Photo courtesy of Kabelo Mokoena)
“It’s so good to see a community with humanity and with love,” said Mendi Mhlanga, who peeked into the gym on Friday.
“In these times, it is uplifting to know that the community will always be there no matter what race or what culture you are.”
The pickup hub is scheduled to continue Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Volunteers with the African and Caribbean Association of Nunavut are getting some rest after mobilizing in the early hours of the fire to find housing for displaced residents, said its president Kabelo Mokoena.
Mokoena was out of town on the night of the fire but he worked on the phone with Omanola Djalogue, who helped co-ordinate volunteers.
Five members of the organization worked into the early hours of Thursday to find shelter for people displaced by the fire. The Aqsarniit hotel provided its front desk for the task, Mokoena said.
Volunteers worked with local members of the Red Cross and the Nunavut Housing Corp. that night.
“This was overnight when the fire was going,” Mokoena said. “We will continue to help those who need to be [helped] at this time.”
Also Friday, the City of Iqaluit announced that Cadet Hall will remain open Saturday and Sunday, each day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., as a warming centre for displaced people. Food, snacks, hygiene products and other donated goods will be available there.
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