RCMP investigating fire at Baker Lake’s only daycare 

RCMP called at 2:30 a.m. Tuesday morning

Baker Lake’s only daycare caught fire early Tuesday morning. (Photo from Facebook livestream by Freddie Oovayuk (left) and Kevin Iksiktaaryuk (right))

By Mélanie Ritchot

The only daycare in Baker Lake went up in flames early Tuesday morning, leaving hamlet residents to find babysitters or other child care arrangements, just as school is starting up.

“A lot of teachers and workers drop off their children there, it really sucks especially now that school just started,” said Marianne Uqayuittuq, a resident of the hamlet of about 2,300 people.

I’m so sad for the parents of the children that go to the daycare,” she said.

The RCMP was called around 2:30 a.m. and firefighters were dispatched, Cpl. Pauline Melanson, a police spokesperson, confirmed.

The RCMP is now investigating the fire.

Baker Lake resident Freddie Oovayuk livestreamed the fire for about 17 minutes on Facebook.

In the video, smoke can be seen coming from all sides of the building and flames engulf the entrance, as emergency lights flash nearby.

The structure is seemingly intact, hours after the fire was extinguished, but parts of the building are visibly burnt and charred.

The community’s MLA, Craig Simailak, tweeted photos of the charred front, writing “this is terrible timing as school begins today.”

Iqaluit’s mayor, Kenny Bell, who is the president of the Nunavut Association of Municipalities, responded to the tweet, saying “any loss of infrastructure is terrible in our communities but losing a daycare has a bad ripple effect.”

 

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(3) Comments:

  1. Posted by Ever Boring on

    New policy at Nunatsiaq News; only update comments twice a day

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  2. Posted by Delbert house on

    I have been out of the territory’s for some time. I read that there was two youths charged with the burning of the co op in Igloolik. In other hamlets several other fires that may have been set intentionally. Was it that long ago that schools were Burt in hamlets.
    Insurance companies would no longer provide affordable premiums. Leaving the the government to cover the cost of any further fires that destroyed buildings owned by the government of Nunavut,
    Soon a election will be held here in Nunavut. I sincerely hope that those chosen will be literates educate and have common sense. To help educate the population that this type of action is unacceptable. And that the consequences for doing these things will be severe.

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    • Posted by Perplexed on

      “To help educate the population that this type of action is unacceptable”

      Do you really believe that there is a portion of the population here that thinks this is acceptable, and that those attitudes are amenable any amount of “education” that will somehow undo them?

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