Naujaat rallies after weekend fire destroys community hall

Naujaat’s mayor says other spaces in the hamlet are opening their doors to people who would otherwise use the community hall, after the building was destroyed in a fire over the weekend.

That includes the arena, which opens for ice hockey by mid-October, as well as the school, which is allowing its entryway and gymnasium to be used for activities such as bingo, said Mayor Alan Robinson.

“​​It’s a major loss. It’s a sadness for the community. But we will be able to overcome all our problems.” he said.

“All we have to do is just work together and we’ll be OK.”

Robinson said he called a special council meeting Tuesday afternoon to discuss the next steps for rebuilding the community hall.

He hopes to “press ahead as quickly as possible to find a new location,” but it will take more than a year for a new community hall to be built.

Naujaat RCMP and the Nunavut Fire Marshal’s office are investigating the fire which was reported late Friday, continued to burn throughout Saturday and was extinguished Sunday morning.

RCMP and the fire department were called to the scene around midnight on Friday. Two officers and six volunteer firefighters responded with two fire trucks as well as two water trucks used by the community for its water supply.

RCMP Cpl. Sean French told Nunatsiaq News no injuries were reported. He said no charges have been laid, and it’s believed no one was inside or on site at the time the fire started.

No damage estimate was available Tuesday.

Residents from the health-care centre nearby and those living across from the community hall were temporarily evacuated because “it was difficult to determine how the wind was going to shift and where potential embers would fall,” French said.

Residents also lost power on Saturday morning, but it was restored within the hour.

“It was a difficult evening,” he said. “Losing the community hall is going to have a severe impact on the community, and I hope that it’s rebuilt as soon as possible.”

French said the RCMP is assisting investigators from the Nunavut Fire Marshal’s office in identifying the cause of the blaze. The electrical system is being checked as part of the investigation.

The process may take the rest of the week because “of the fragility of the structure and its state after the fire,” he said.

“It’s a very hazardous area so equipment is going to have to be brought in to move pieces out of the way so the investigators can take a closer look.”