In the top photo, smouldering ruins are all that’s left of the three-storey Noble House complex on Mivvik Street in Iqaluit following a fire Wednesday night. The bottom photo shows Noble House apartments as it appeared in 2013, according to Google Maps’ Street View. (Photo by Daron Letts / screenshot courtesy of Google Maps)
‘Very hard time for our neighbours’: Massive Iqaluit fire under investigation
No reports of injuries or missing people but 36 families or individuals were left homeless after Noble House fire
Smouldering ruins were all that remained of the Noble House apartment block in Iqaluit Thursday afternoon, nearly 24 hours after emergency crews were called to a fire in the three-storey structure.

Families muster at the Yummy Shawarma restaurant on Mivvik Street on Wednesday night, watching as the Noble House apartment building burns. (Photo by Daron Letts)
Thirty-six residential units were occupied, according to the Nunavut Housing Corp. Everyone living there was evacuated and there were no reports of injuries or missing people, Iqaluit RCMP said in a news release Thursday.
“This is a very hard time for our neighbours,” said Khal El-Shamaa, who owns the Yummy Shawarma restaurant across the street where many of those who fled the fire gathered Wednesday night as the blaze raged.
“You know, we’ve been neighbours for 15 years here,” he said. “I know them all.”
They watched it burn as they ate pizza, wiped away tears and listened for instructions from Nunavut Housing Corp. staff, who directed victims to the nearby cadet hall where the City of Iqaluit established a warming centre.
The group — which included families and individuals of all ages — moved from the restaurant to the shelter by 9:30 p.m., as embers from the fire mixed with falling snowflakes.
Heat from the fire could be felt on exposed skin 100 metres from the blaze, even though Environment Canada reported temperatures of -37 C with a wind chill and risk of frostbite.
“This fire is under investigation by the Iqaluit fire department with support from the Nunavut Fire Marshal’s office and the Iqaluit RCMP,” Cpl. George Henrie, the RCMP spokesperson, said in the news release Thursday.
The fire was reported at around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, when Iqaluit firefighters began attacking the blaze at 1088 Mivvik St.
Around 6:25 p.m., smoke gushing from windows above the northwest entrance shrouded the building. Around that time, firefighters wearing oxygen masks and carrying a water hose went inside, and they exited by about 7 p.m.

An excavator tears down the remaining structure as the fire gains the upper hand at approximately 10 p.m. (Photo by Daron Letts)
Two fire trucks trained hoses on the fire from two angles for hours.
Flames were visible inside the building at around 8:30 p.m., when firefighters sought to clear the parking lot of vehicles to move an excavator and bulldozer into the area.
Firefighters made several sweeps back and forth along the building to ensure residents were evacuated.
The fire spread quickly across the roof of Noble House, pushed by wind gusts that reached 60 km/h according to Environment Canada.
Around 10 p.m., firefighters began tearing down the unburned part of the structure with an excavator after it became apparent the building could not be saved.
The excavator could not move fast enough, though, and by 10:30 p.m. fire enveloped the entire building.
“By 1 a.m, the entire building collapsed,” Henrie said in the release.
The exact number of people displaced by the fire is unknown, but 36 families or individuals were living in Government of Nunavut staff housing units there, Sierra Leblanc, spokesperson for Nunavut Housing Corp., said in an email to Nunatsiaq News.
It’s believed there were also a handful of professional or government offices located in the building.
In an update released Thursday, Nunavut Housing Corp. said it is “actively working to ensure that all tenants are temporarily accommodated in hotels and relocated to other housing units” and is attempting to secure long-term housing.
The City of Iqaluit, in its own release, said tenants who were not relocated to hotels should contact Lana Drouillard at 867-975-7210 or ldrouillard@gov.nu.ca or Michaela Smith at 867-975-7204 or msmith11@gov.nu.ca, or the emergency contact line at 867-222-1304 if they still require a room or some other assistance.
City of Iqaluit spokesperson Geoff Byrne declined comment Thursday, saying: “Due to the ongoing relief efforts and the diversion of staff resources, the City of Iqaluit will be unable to accommodate media inquiries today.”
On Thursday, the City of Iqaluit announced it will begin accepting cash or cheque donations to assist victims of the fire starting Friday.
With all the fires that seem to happen each year, does the GN have building inspectors?
I’ve heard the GN has these positions vacant and hire consultants from the south when needed.
Fire department and building codes are the City responsibly, aren’t they?
Yes the GN has permanent building inspectors. However, the Nunavut Building Code Act did not come into force until Sept 2018 and any construction before that date was under the authority of Nunavut’s Fire Marshal Office. Now, new construction and renovations are the responsibility of the Office of the Chief Building Official. I don’t think vacant building inspector positions, or the use of consultants would have had any bearing on this tragic situation.
Wow 2018! When did Nunavut start again? I really don’t understand how the GN works or doesn’t work.
NWT days we had all kinds of inspectors, food inspectors, building inspectors and so on, we seem to be lacking so much capacity at the GN and it doesn’t seem to be improving since Nunavut was created but actually steadily been getting worse on all levels. How can this be? Not enough training and building local capabilities? Too much hiring of consultants? How can we improve things at the GN?
I guess the sprinkler system failed ?
Sprinkler systems are a non factor for when fire is located between walls.
Fire grows rapidly in these voids.
The Noble House Building had been built before Nunavut began adhering to official building codes. And, that only started in about 2017.
Regarding the topic of sprinklers, the issue of whether or not sprinkler heads were present is only a small part of the big picture. Equally important is the rest of the system, much of which is not visible to the occupants or the casual observer. The entire system needs to be engineered appropriately, designed thoughtfully, inspected and verified regularly by skilled technicians, and so on.
And, any alterations to the building layout or usage patterns need to be reflected by the sprinkler system design too. For example, if someone converts an office space into a retail space, or if they convert a retail space into a restaurant, then major changes will be required in many realms relevant to fire safety. (Whole textbooks have been written on these topics.)
Furthermore, the functioning of whatever sprinkler system was present is heavily influenced by the overall building design. Here we get into topics like the structure and layout of the building, the materials chosen and in what quantities, how those materials were installed, and so on. The design and construction of the walls, floors, and ceilings is all part of this too.
The presence or absence of firebreaks (and their ratings with respect to time and temperature) is key. The design of the heating system, and its interaction with the rest of the building, is also important. So are other aspects, like the presence or absence of automatic fire dampers in whatever types of ventilation systems were present. And the list goes on. (Entire textbooks have been written on these topics.)
The design of the electrical system is also important. Generally, the safest way to run wiring is in metallic conduit. This provides solid protection against the spreading of a fire. It also provides valuable protection against damage to the wiring. (For example, imagine if someone decides to pound a nail into a wall in order to hang a picture. Then, they could hit a wire and cause a short, known as an arc-fault, which itself can occur in either parallel or series format.)
Therefore, all sorts of fire-related scenarios are conceivable here. Today, as I write this, it is Sunday, January 19, 2025. The fire occurred on Wednesday, January 8, 2025. There have still been no investigation results released. We simply do not know if or when the results will be released, nor in what level of detail.
In fact, it is unclear if the investigation is still ongoing or not.
A lot of buildings in Nunavut burned down instead of being saved. Does every community in Nunavut have trained firefighters, or do they just hire firefighters with zero experience? I know some communities only hire family members, but are they well-trained? Nunavut communities really need to train their firefighters. Save the buildings not just let them burn down.
Majority of firefighters in Nunavut are volunteers. There is no financial incentive other than tax breaks. Your ‘only hires family members’ comment is irrelevant here. These volunteers risk their lives by going out in harsh conditions to a burning buildings. Thank a firefighter instead of critizing. Atleast we have them.
Sanikiluaq has family only firefighters with zero experience. They prefer family. I know, I tried volunteering but they only want their family to volunteer.
I don’t think it’s the firefighters, I think we need to look at the chiefs and management…..
How old was this building/when was it built? I think they had the largest apartments in Iqaluit (2 beds and 2 baths with en suite laundry).
Over 70% of fire fighters in Canada are volunteer. If you have never served please just say thank you.