KINNGAIT/CAPE DORSET - Water delivery in Cape Dorset will be restricted until October after a fire destroyed one of the hamlet's water trucks on Aug. 20, according to SAO John Ivey.

A fire destroyed one of Cape Dorset's three water delivery trucks on Aug. 20. - photo courtesy of Cape Dorset hamlet

Cape Dorset has three water trucks, all of which were parked in the hamlet's three-bay garage at 6 p.m. the evening of the fire, according to an incident report Ivey sent to assistant fire marshal Don Ayres.

The cab and chassis of one truck was completely destroyed while the two other trucks sustained damage, Ivey's report said. There will be limitations put on water delivery until the fall, when an older truck is expected to arrive, Ivey said.

"Water is restricted on the basis that if somebody has two or three people in a residence, it's going to be every second day," he said. "We're looking at water consumption reports and history and we're going to be contacting people and saying 'look we have to cut back.'"

Ivey said the hamlet has looked into getting an older truck sent to Cape Dorset on sealift in October. The vehicle is a milk truck that is being refitted to be used as a water truck, Ivey said.

"We appear to have secured an older truck that will help us make it through the winter until we can get a new one on the next boat next year," he said. "It's an older truck, but we need another one. We can't get by with two, the town is too big."

Ivey also said one of the hamlet's two other trucks is 10 years old.

"It's seen a lot of miles on it," he said. "We were hoping to retire it this year."

Steve Weedmark and Adamie Nuna were the first firefighters on the scene.

"One of the first responders was walking close to the vicinity and noticed the smoke," Weedmark said. "My kids came running in -- they saw the smoke and they woke me up. I was having a quick power nap."

Ivey's incident report states the men arrived at the scene at about 6:50 p.m. Weedmark and Nuna got the fire truck from the nearby fire hall and began hosing the door of the garage to cool it down.

At approximately 7:05 p.m., according to the report, firefighter Qavavau Peter arrived and the three men entered the garage and began hosing the burning water truck.

"Thank God the garage was only a stone's throw away from the fire hall," Weedmark said. "I got set up and got Adamie set up with the hose and another member (Qavavau Peter) showed up and we breached the door, got the hose in there and then Adamie kept the hose on the truck."

After the fire was contained, members of the Kudlik Construction crew used a forklift to open the overhead bay doors of the garage to enable Weedmark and Peter to drive the other two water trucks out of the garage.

Weedmark said the trucks were damaged but are still functional.

"The smoke and the heat was so high in there a lot of the plastic features on them had disintegrated, but they're usable and I've got all the parts on order," he said.

Weedmark said the fire was in the cab of the truck when he and Nuna entered the garage.

"When we did breach the door, we did see the fire in the cab and of course it progressed after that," he said.

The report stated, "There is no indication of what caused this fire and it has been suggested that it could have been an electrical malfunction but that is a determination that will be made by the Fire Marshal's office after they complete their investigation."

By 7:45 p.m., the entire fire department was on scene and extinguished the fire. The garage was monitored throughout the night.

Ivey said it was a close call.

"Without the quick intervention of the fire department and the prompt arrival of the (assistant) fire marshal and the RCMP and the rest of us, we would have lost all three trucks, it's possible," he said. "It was close as it was. Five minutes later, I don’t know. We were lucky in that respect."

A new water truck would cost approximately $250,000, according to Ivey's report. The tank assembly of the burned truck might still be salvageable, the report also said.

The cost of the damage to the garage and the other trucks is not yet known.

Fire marshal Tony Noakes said the fire is still under investigation.