Firefighters set the fire and made no attempt to put it out.

And when the flames began to rise from the structure at about 4 p.m. Jan. 23, so did emotions in the community.

About 400 people -- one-third of the population -- were there to watch the fire. Horne was convicted of sex crimes against boys when he taught in several Nunavut communities between 1971 and 1995 -- including Dorset.

There was some yelling at the building itself, almost as if it embodied Horne. Kids threw rocks at the unit, there were tears and, in the end, a sense of relief.

"It was right opposite to the school and people passed by it every day. The unit brought back bad memories," said Art Stewart, Cape Dorset's senior administrator.

"The memories will always be there for the victims but at least the unit is gone. To see something actually being done was a very positive thing in people's minds."

Horne was a teacher and principal at elementary schools in Iqaluit, Sanikiluaq, Cape Dorset and Grise Fiord. In all of these communities, he sexually abused some of the children he supervised. Most of his victims were between the ages of nine and 11.

The burning of the school unit was part of Cape Dorset's settlement with the governments of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. Stewart said the unit was no longer being used by the school but was sometimes used as a weight room by members of the community.

In October of last year that a $21.5 million provisional settlement was reached between the governments of Nunavut, the NWT and 85 victims of sexual abuse by Horne. The settlement is one of the largest for the sexual abuse of children in Canada's history.