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IQALUIT - A recent apartment fire in Iqaluit was caused by an appliance used to thaw frozen pipes, the fire marshal’s office reported last week.

Ed Zebidi, director of Protection Services, said the investigation of an eight-unit apartment fire on Jan. 15 revealed an oil-fired heating unit being used to thaw a frozen water line under the building had sparked the blaze.

A fire consumed one half of an eight-unit apartment building off of the Road to Nowhere in Iqaluit on Jan. 15. - Carolyn Sloan/NNSL photo

“We have had instances (like this) in the past,” he said. “These heaters are an oil-fired heating unit and they put out quite a bit of heat.”

City fire fighters were called to the fire in the Road to Nowhere subdivision at around 7:20 pm Jan.15.

“The fire was fully involved underneath on one side and up the exterior wall on the other side,” said fire chief Gregory Jewers. “Basically, the fire ended up reaching the floor and inside walls and the fire department removed interior walls and located the fire inside.”

The complex was empty when firefighters arrived and no one was hurt, he added.

One half of the building suffered a large amount of heat and smoke damage, while the other four units “seemed to be fine,” said Jewers.

He added the building owner has insurance and the damage is covered.

Zebidi said if it wasn’t for the timely response of the fire department, the whole building could have been lost.

“Because this was underneath the building, things like smoke detectors would not have activated immediately,” he said. “Them getting to the site in a timely fashion probably saved the building from a complete loss.”

Given the challenges of getting to the scene, Zebidi commended the department for its efforts.

“Considering the weather and the challenges they did have that evening, it was a very fast response and they saved a great portion of the building,” he said. “They did a really good job.”