Cambridge Bay (May 01/06) - A part of Cambridge Bay's history has been lost forever. The small stone church - located across the bay from the community - was destroyed by fire in the early morning hours of April 27.

RCMP and the fire chief are calling the fire suspicious, and an investigation is under way.

The history of the church, as written on the historical marker outside the church: Using materials at hand including seal oil, clay and frost shattered rocks, Fathers Lemer, Steinman and Menez began the construction of Cambridge Bay's first permanent Catholic church in 1953. The church opened on Sept. 12, 1954, with nine parishioners. Today this stone structure is the only remnant of Cambridge Bay's old town and a link with the community's past. In an effort to maintain this building, several attempts have been made. Because of the unusual original construction techniques, which involved mixing seal oil and clay for mortar, this work has been costly and not very effective to date.

There is no electricity at the site - the original location for the hamlet of Cambridge Bay - so that has been ruled out as a possible cause for the fire.

This was the first fire for new fire chief Keith Morrison, and he wishes there was more his department could have done.

"We received a call at 12:35 a.m. from someone who was working late. We knew we couldn't get there. That road is only open in the summer," said Morrison.

Morrison and three other department members drove snowmobiles to the church, to make sure no one was inside the building or too close to the fire.

"Given the circumstances, it was the best we could do. We might have been able to make it out in the summer. It was all we could do to make sure no one got hurt," said Morrison.

Kim Crockatt, the president of the heritage society, said the old stone church was one of the community's major attractions.

The society was formed in 1995, and the last major work on the church was completed just before the society formed.

"It's really important (to us). It was built by the Roman Catholic Church. It was one of the first permanent structures in town, along with the Hudson Bay Company and the RCMP," said Crockatt.

The most popular visitors site in Cambridge is the remains of the ship Maud - explorer Roald Amundsen's ship - which are located near the church. People visiting the wreck would often stop by the church.

It was a building unique to Nunavut. The walls were insulated with muskox wool to protect it from the cold winds.

Crockatt's biggest fear is that the hamlet will bring the building down before it can be saved.

"I hope the hamlet will refrain from bulldozing it until they get an expert opinion from a structural engineer. This is a pretty historic landmark, and I believe they should do everything they can do to preserve all or parts of the walls of the church," said Crockatt.

Cambridge Bay Mayor Michelle Gillis did not return repeated phone calls about the future of the church and the hamlet's plans.

The last fire to rock the community of Cambridge Bay was in May 2005. when the community hall was destroyed.