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Inuvik fights another house fire Katherine Hudson Northern News Services Published Monday, February 27, 2012
This time, there was no freeze-up of the fire hydrant or pumper truck, as occurred during the Jan. 31 fire on Gwich'in Road - the 100th call in January to a fire department plagued with false alarms. The two house fires shared two similarities in the fact no one was hurt in either instance and the community has once again banded together to raise funds for the now-homeless family. Fire Chief Jim Sawkins said the call came in to the fire department at about 11:50 p.m. on Feb. 18 and firefighters were on the scene on Balsam Street about five minutes later. Twenty-five firefighters responded to the call both on the scene and back at the hall. Sawkins said the department left the scene around 3:30 a.m. "We arrived on scene and the crawl space underneath the trailer was engulfed in flames. "That's where we made our first attack and unfortunately by that time it had burnt through the floor into the mobile home so we ended up dressing additional attack teams and gaining access into the building and trying to open up, find out where the fire was going," he said. The fire department had just discussed tactics on fighting mobile home fires at its weekly Wednesday meeting. A mobile home is different than a house because of its size, the number of exits and the construction techniques of the home, said Sawkins. "There is a very high sense of urgency for a mobile home and in this case the special tactics worked out very well," he said. "We did what we call a quick attack. Both pumpers rolled straight to the mobile home and we found a water source after that." The fire department used the water supply in both pumper trucks, resupplied resources with a tanker from Bob's Welding and also tied into a fire hydrant. Sawkins said it is in the public's best interest to make sure the hydrants that are close to their homesnot covered by snow. At Monday's Committee of the Whole meeting, Coun. Vince Sharpe said ensuring the hydrants are accessible is the town's duty. "I think it would be our responsibility to keep them clear, not the private homeowners." With the high drifts that have developed around town, many hydrants remain hidden under piles of snow. Sawkins said the fire department is discussing putting flags on the hydrants to make them more visible under the snow. For the family that lost their home and possessions on Saturday night, donations are being accepted at Esso gas station. An account has also been set up for the family at CIBC. Kasook and Coxford have a three-year-old daughter and two-year-old son. "Everybody was out safe and sound," said Sawkins of the fire. He said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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