Repulse Bay (Nov 03/04) - Four youth have been charged with attempted arson in connection with a fire at Tusarvik school this past month.

The charges against the youth, aged 15 to 16, were laid by members of the Repulse Bay detachment of the RCMP.

The youth, who cannot be identified under the Young Offenders Act, will appear in youth court in the new year.

Kivalliq regional fire marshal Tim Hinds said the fire broke out at the school on Oct. 24.

Staff members were forced to keep the school closed Monday morning while cleanup was still taking place.

Hinds said members of the Repulse Bay Volunteer Fire Department responded quickly to the alarm.

"An alarm was sent into the Repulse fire station when the sprinkler system was activated at the school," said Hinds.

"By the time the firefighters arrived at the school, the sprinkler system had actually put the fire out.

"So there was no need for the volunteer members to actually do any firefighting, but they did take their hoses in and were ready to go had they been needed."

Mainly water damage

After confirming the fire had been completely extinguished, the firefighters remained on scene to reset the sprinkler system, take photos, assist with the initial cleanup and start their investigation into the cause of the fire.

"The people responsible for the fire left a gas can sitting on the floor.

"The vast majority of the damage, other than a bit of scorching on the baseboard, was caused by water from the sprinkler system."

Tusarvik teacher Leonie Aissaoui said finding out the fire was set deliberately was quite disappointing to school staff.

She said with so many extracurricular activities held at the school, the ending could have been much worse.

"The point we stressed to the students upon their return to class was that there's more involved to an action like this than simply burning a building," said Aissaoui.

"You have firefighters and other people who could die if the fire got out of control.

"We tried to impress upon them that there's serious consequences to an act like this."