.
Search
Email this articleE-mail this story  Discuss this articleWrite letter to editor  Discuss this articleOrder a classified ad
Clyde fire hall burns

Volunteers use forklift, borrowed hoses and axes to douse blaze

Chris Woodall
Northern News Services


Clyde River (Jan 20/03) - It wasn't quite "man bites dog," but it was unusual enough that the hamlet's fire hall burned Jan. 11.

The hall was destroyed.

Firefighters had to use all their ingenuity to beat down the blaze because all their firefighting equipment was inside the building.

Losses include the hamlet's main fire truck as well as the water truck.

Fire trucks aren't cheap. Estimates put the damage to trucks and the hall at $500,000.

Cause of the 8:20 a.m. fire is under investigation. Nunavut fire marshal Gerald Pickett was in Clyde River Jan. 14 to investigate.

A dozen firefighters -- the entire complement -- were at the fire, using front-end loaders to smash down the flames. Hoses from other parts of town as well as axes were used, too, turning the war against the blaze into hand-to-hand combat.

The fire was defeated in two hours.

Injuries were limited to burns to fire Chief Loassie Tassugag's hands.

The fire hall was the only loss to the hamlet.

The building sits separately from other buildings and had no other occupants.

"Considering the firefighters had no equipment, they did quite a commendable job," says Clyde River RCMP detachment Cpl. Randy Flawson.

Firefighters and others were planning, this past week, how to prepare to battle another fire until lost trucks, etc., can be replaced.