Three youth charged with setting Apex house on fire

Police have arrested three youth for lighting a fire that gutted an uninhabited house in Apex earlier this month.

Firefighters arrived at house 3072 on May 13 evening to find fire shooting out the windows, and a plume of smoke rising so high that it could be seen from the far end of Iqaluit.

Leo Tobin, acting fire chief for Iqaluit, said the fire was so bad that the team of 20 firefighters could only risk battling the blaze from outside the house. “She was fully ablaze,” he said last week.

Firefighters were called back to the scene the next morning when a fire broke out again, underneath the house. It was quickly put out.

Tobin said the original fire risked spreading to neighbouring houses, but was kept under control, thanks to help from the city’s water truck drivers and pubic works department.

Tobin gave special thanks to resident Alain Carrière, who had medical complications while keeping the water reservoirs intact, and had to be treated at the hospital.

Duncan Cunningham, the owner of the house, lives in Pond Inlet. He was visiting Iqaluit on Friday, May 13, and was seen watching the blaze from the road.

RCMP said one youth is over 11 years old, and could face charges under the Young Offenders Act. The other two children are less than 11 years old, and considered too young to face charges under the law.

Police said the incident is still under investigation.