Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

IQALUIT (Sep 14/98) - The arrival of the newest member of the Iqaluit fire fighting team likely means that more lives and buildings can be saved.

With a reach of more than 22-metres, the bright red aerial pumper is far better equipped to extinguish fires in Iqaluit's structures.

"It's very useful for fighting fires with a large footprint like Arctic College, the schools, the legislative assembly...all those buildings that are going up right now," said Wheaton.

He further explained that it's a common misconception to assume that aerials have been used solely to battle blazes in tall buildings.

Wheaton said the new truck could also prevent firefighters from being injured in the line of duty.

"We'll be able to see the fire as opposed to sending people in who can't see the fire."

And there's even more good news.

The town of Iqaluit was only required to pay $90,000 for the truck that drove off the sealift with a $524,000 price tag. The federal infrastructure funding initiative picked up the rest of the tab, leaving local taxpayers to pay only 18 cents on every dollar that went into the truck.

"We want to let people know that this was a good financial move for the town," assured Wheaton, who added that the purchase had further positive ramifications for the community.

Number 502, the '70s model truck the aerial replaced, was originally destined to a find a new home up island. Wheaton said there is now a possibility that the truck will be used in Apex, the tiny community that lies outside of Iqaluit.

As well as increasing the number of firefighting volunteers in Apex, a local truck would allow fires to be responded to more quickly.

Pointing to the current response time as something that is "a little more than we're comfortable with," Wheaton said he planned to approach town council with the idea this fall.

"It would definitely shorten our response time."