The RCMP say fire destroyed the old health centre in Sanikiluaq shortly before 11 p.m. Tuesday. Officers say the fire is not considered suspicious. (Photo courtesy of Allan Rumbolt)
Fire destroys Sanikiluaq’s old health centre
Building a ‘total loss,’ police say it’s not suspicious
A fire that destroyed Sanikiluaq’s old health centre late Tuesday is not considered suspicious, according to the RCMP.
Officers responded to the fire at 10:50 p.m. that night and local firefighters extinguished the blaze.
No injuries were reported and no other buildings were damaged.
Although health services had been moved to a new building in February 2021, the old centre was still used by several organizations and government services, and it housed a medical travel team.
“The old health centre structure is a total loss,” said the RCMP news release. “It has been determined that the fire is not suspicious in nature.”
Allan Rumbolt, the former Hudson Bay MLA, said he witnessed the fire as it was burning.
No injuries were reported in a fire that destroyed Sanikiluaq’s old health centre. (Photo courtesy of RCMP)
While no one was hurt, the destruction of important office space and housing presents a major loss for Sanikiluaq, he said.
“That’s another big hit to the community and they’re scrambling now to find space for the staff that were staying upstairs,” Rumbolt said.
He said there is limited space for offices and housing in the community.
Now, the challenge is to make sure all the people and services that occupied the old building are adequately housed in whatever spaces are available.
“I’m sure the people will put their heads together and figure out what they can do,” Rumbolt said.
Health services at the new building have not been impacted by the fire and are proceeding as normal, according to Danarae Sommerville, a spokesperson for the Department of Health.
There was no damage estimate available for the fire.
Why is it not suspicious? No cause of the fire is suggested in the article.
Journalists, dig deeper!
It’s not considered suspicious because arson is so normalized up here.
As a resident of Sanikiluaq, Sanikiluaq is nothing but vandalism, lack of help, no activities
For the youth, no hunting experience at all for the youth, nothing! It’s no wonder there is nothing but vandalism.
I worked on this building when it was being constructed. It was back in the early 1980s
The building that old must’ve needed at of mechanic repairing and a lot of maintenance. There’s always lack of mechanic service up in the North and if there is on, lack of quality tools and quality products. And it take weeks and weeks to receive the right parts. Also, Sanikiluaq is always the last place to get proper help and it’s always left out by the Nunavut. Always put aside or taken down to the bottom list.