First Air back to regular operation
Kirsten Murphy
Northern News Services
Iqaluit (Jun 04/01) - A multi-million-dollar fire ravaged First Air's maintenance hangar last week, causing flight delays and forcing the airline to relocate its maintenance operations.
Four First Air maintenance employees escaped the May 27 blaze unharmed.
The blaze destroyed tires, tools, engine parts, oil, cleaners and flight records. Iqaluit fire chief Neville Wheaton put the financial loss "in the millions."
"We relocated the offices to our other administration building. Maintenance work is being done outside," said First Air communications director Tracy Beeman.
The fire's dramatic black smoke attracted hundreds of spectators. Some said it was Iqaluit's biggest fire in years. Police were called in to move back onlookers who marvelled at the sound of exploding aerosol cans.
The early investigation suggests the fire started in the hangar's south corner, said Wheaton. Arson and human error have not been ruled out.
"It was floor-to-ceiling flames when we got there. Determining where it started (will) come from eyewitnesses."
The four First Air employees were questioned as part of the investigation and remained at work last week.
Flights to Baffin Island communities were cancelled May 28. Beeman said the airline was back to business Tuesday.
A 10-passenger Hawker Siddeley 748 was removed before a section of roof caved in. The presence of fuel, oil, pressurized oxygen and nitrogen added to the fire's unpredictability.
Twenty full-time and volunteer firefighters battled the blaze into the night. All that remains is a gutted hangar with a partial roof.
Structural engineers will determine if the 50-year-old building is salvageable.
The Environmental Protection Division of the Department of Sustainable Development placed a half dozen absorbent booms in nearby streams to prevent the potential spread of fuel and oil into surface water, said Rob Eno, pollution control manager.
"It's a precautionary measure," Eno said.
