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KANGIQLINIQ/RANKIN INLET
Black smoke hung heavy in the air and searing heat radiated from seacans and a ramshackle van at the Rankin Inlet landfill last Wednesday, but the flames were not caused by arson or negligence – this was the training ground for a new generation of firefighters.

Jim Papak, left, and Mark Innukshuk, both of Rankin Inlet, wait for their turn at the flames while their peers tackle the burning van in the background, in Rankin Inlet on Aug. 1 during firefighter training. - Tim Edwards/NNSL photo

Twenty-four Nunavummiut adults, young and old, donned the yellow suits and helmets of the trade and took their Level One training in the community all last week. The 10-day course was 60 per cent theory, but during the practical training, they stepped right into the flames.

Rankin Inlet's Jim Papak was one of the trainees and said, though he fought fires in 2001, he just started his formal training last month and was excited for the course. He said he expected to be employed after its completion.

During the field training on Wednesday, the firefighters were expected to use the proper lingo, employ strategies they'd learned – such as fighting a fire from uphill and upwind. The firefighters donned masks and oxygen tanks, brandished axes and operated a fire hose to clear various controlled-fire scenarios – whether in a dark, ominous seacan or a completely-engulfed husk of vehicle – and the flames were put out as quickly as they were started.

"They learn the basics of firefighting," said fire service instructor Jim Fairbank.

The trainees were made up of Nunavummiut from Rankin Inlet, Chesterfield Inlet, Arviat, Baker Lake, Kimmirut, Cape Dorset, Pond Inlet and Arctic Bay. Graduates will receive certification at the National Fire Protection Association 10-01 level, which is a standard across the country.

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