IQALUIT - A fire broke out in a house near the Quickstop on the way to Apex last Tuesday around noon and raged for about two hours before the Iqaluit fire department was able to put it out.

This four-plex in Iqaluit was partially consumed by flames at around noon Aug. 24. This photo was taken around 7 p.m. that day. - Tim Edwards/NNSL photo

Fire chief Walter Oliver said the fire department received a call reporting the fire at 11:42 a.m.

"There were two people in the unit," said Oliver on Wednesday. "They were sleeping and they awoke to the smell and sight of smoke and got themselves out of the place."

Smoke from the fire was visible throughout Iqaluit.

Oliver said both occupants were adults, and one of them was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation about 25 minutes after the firefighters arrived. As well, a firefighter injured their back while fighting the blaze.

"Both injuries were minor and everyone's fine," said Oliver.

Oliver said he did not know where the occupants of the apartment were staying as the last time he saw them was at the scene of the fire.

The building is a four-plex in a cul-de-sac overlooking the city of Iqaluit. The fire was in the top left unit, and the unit directly below it is unoccupied.

Oliver said the top left unit "received substantial damage to its finishings and the content" but the rest of the building was only dealt minor smoke damage – "the type of thing that can be fixed" – and the structure remains intact.

Oliver said, to the fire department's knowledge, the cause of the fire had yet to be determined as of last Wednesday, and the investigation was in the hands of the RCMP. The RCMP did not return phone calls by press time.

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