A 15-year-old is facing arson charges after a fire in Rankin Inlet on Monday. (File photo by Sarah Rogers)

Youth charged with arson after Rankin Inlet fire

Blaze causes almost $100,000 in damage to Nunavut Housing Corp. residence

By Nunatsiaq News

A 15-year-old in Rankin Inlet has been charged with arson after a fire caused almost $100,000 in damage to a residence in the community earlier this week.

Firefighters responded to the blaze at around 8:09 a.m. and were able to quickly extinguish it, said RCMP Cpl. Tammy Keller in a news release. 

“The occupants of the house were able to escape without injury,” she said. 

Rankin Inlet Fire chief Mark Wyatt said the residence was a Nunavut Housing Corp. building that housed four units. He said most of the smoke damage was contained to one unit. 

The youth has been charged with:

  • Arson – Disregard for Human Life
  • Arson to Property
  • Mischief Over $5000

The youth will remain in custody until their next court appearance on July 25 in Rankin Inlet.

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(6) Comments:

  1. Posted by 867 on

    Some good old fashioned Community Service should fit the bill for this minor: Picking up garbage, hauling rocks around, cooking meals for the elderly. About 7,000 hours at $15/hr will cover the $100,000 in damages.

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    • Posted by Alan Klie on

      By law, the most community service that can be ordered is 240 hours with a maximum duration of 18 months.

      • Posted by Thomas Shelby on

        Obviously the laws are too easy on these child offenders, this will continue until Parents are held accountable for their children.

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  2. Posted by Still here on

    Most likely very little done or any repercussion, no accountability for the 15 year old or his Family being held responsible. Lets just be complacent and complicit to these actions as it is normalized in the north. As it all comes down to coddle the problem not fix it, i can only imagine the discipline i would wreak on my children if they had done something like this.

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  3. Posted by Aqpik on

    It’s about time kids are held responsible for their actions. I took 2 kids to the community justice committee when these kids stole something from me. I couldn’t charge them as they were under age but I was able to take to the the committee and make them responsible for their actions. We met with the kids and their parents, they apologized and I wanted more then just an apology. So the kids were ordered to do community service and had a supervisor watch them. If I remember correctly, these boys didnt’ steal again from anyone. Kids need to be held responsible!

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  4. Posted by Name withheld on

    7 years ago 3 youth stole our honda. They were caught but because they were 15 and 16 years old i didnt want to press charges so i deat with community justice committee. I knew they were all still high school kids but didnt attend often…going down the wrong road. The justice committee asked me how i wanted the youth dealt with. I stated if the 3 boys graduate high school all will be forgiven. 2 of the 3 graduated high school and are now productive citizens of our community.

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