Maria Canton
Northern News Services

Lady Franklin Point (Jan 17/00) - A military long-range radar building on Victoria Island was left to burn itself out last week.

The station, at Lady Franklin Point, was one of the military's North Warning Systems, which monitors aircraft entering Canadian airspace. The station is unmanned and there were no personnel on site.

Located about 100 kilometre northeast of Kugluktuk, the station was instrument and satellite controlled from NORAD headquarters in Ontario.

The fire was reported via satellite last Monday, Jan. 10, to the southern headquarters and military officials made the decision to let it burn itself out.

"Fire alarms were sounding from the power-generating end of the building and, pushed by the winds, the fire ate its way through," said Department of National Defence Leiut. Mark Gough.

"The remote location, weather and limited daylight were factors in letting it burn."

After the fire burned the entire length of the building and consumed a large radar dome, DND investigators flew to the site outfitted in full environmental protection gear.

The paint on the walls of the building contains PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls).

"This incident is being treated as a hazardous materials accident," said Gough.

"There are PCBs in the paint because the building is from the 1950s DEW Line site and investigators have to have air tanks and one-piece rubber suits when they inspect the site."

PCBs are a carcinogens that can affect a person when breathed in or passing through the skin.

Before investigators arrived, however, an Atco Frontec crew from Cambridge Bay flew over the site last Tuesday to confirm there was a fire.

"Our investigation team will assess the damages and the environmental impact of the fire," said Maj. Paul Garant, who is with north warning system department of DND.

"Military police are also with them in case a criminal investigation is necessary."

Garant said it was difficult to tell from the initial reports if it was a fire or not because the buildings are equipped with automatic fire sprinkler systems that would normally be activated.

"It was later confirmed it was a fire in the main building that houses the radar and communication systems," he said.

Garant said they are currently trying to assess the damages and could not put a price tag on the amount of equipment lost.

He also could not say how much it cost to initially set up the station.

"The estimated cost of damages is unknown and because the site was re-vamped as part of a bigger project, we have no costs per site," said Garant.

The long-range station is one of 11 spanning from the Alaskan border to the Labrador coast. There are 36 short-range radar sites across the same area.

Aside from routine maintenance checks done four times a year, the sight remains unoccupied. The other buildings at the site are old warehouses from the '50s likely housing machinery and vehicles, said DND officials.

As of now, the equipment at the station is not operational and Garant says they are still not sure if it will be replaced.