Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Feb 25/02) - Mayor Raymond Kayasark has high words of praise for the way emergency response workers in Kugaaruk handled two crises this month.

Kayasark said they were able to respond "very well" to a shack fire and to a serious propane leak and evacuation.

"It was handled the way it was supposed to be handled," said Kayasark.

The leak was detected Feb. 14 when Koomiut Co-op employees noticed a propane smell coming from a sea-lift storage can.

Firefighters responding to the call were unable to determine which of the 41 tanks was leaking. Following in-structions from acting fire marshal Robert Tremblay in Cambridge Bay, Kugaaruk fire Chief Cedrik Anguti secured the area and evacuated 12 homes and a local hotel.

The community gymnasium provided space and refreshments for the evacuees for roughly five hours as firefighters located and removed eight leaking propane tanks.

Hamlet senior administrator Quinn Taggart said officials were just wrapping up the paperwork from the first call when firefighters received a call Feb. 15 concerning a shack fire. An oil stove inside a shack at a private residence apparently caused the fuel line on a snowmobile to melt. The resulting fire damaged the snowmobile, tools, the stove and other items.

Damage was estimated at between $15,000 and $20,000.

Taggart joined Kayasark in his praise for the firefighters and response crews for their quick reactions and Tremblay's capable direction.

"Tremblay did a good job with our guys. He knows their capabilities and it worked well," he said.

The Kugaaruk firefighters have already attracted the attention of their peers.

Two awards for the community will be announced this week during the annual general meeting of the Nunavut Fire Officer's Association.

The community will be named Most Improved Volunteer Fire Department of the Year, and Kugaaruk's Vince Ningark will be honored with the Volunteer Firefighter of the Year award.