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IQALUIT
February's Whiterow fire devastated Nunavut Arctic College's language and culture classes, leaving six of 15 students homeless, but those same students showed their gratitude to the firefighters who came to their rescue, presenting hand-sewn sealskin mittens to the force last Tuesday.

Nunavut Arctic College language and culture senior instructor Susan Enuaraq presents Iqaluit's acting deputy fire chief Barry Rogers with a pair of sealskin mittens, one of 15 made by her students, six of whom lost their homes in the Feb. 26 Whiterow fire. - Casey Lessard/NNSL photo

"It's tremendous. It touches our hearts for sure," acting deputy fire chief Barry Rogers said. "To see that gesture and that the girls had put that sort of work into the mittens, it goes a long way. You don't see that too often."

Volunteer Mike Lewis was one of firefighters who braved 60 km/h gusting winds that night. The bracing cold froze the water before it could hit the flames that destroyed 22 Creekside Village homes, leaving 85 people temporarily homeless and two dead.

"It's very touching," said Lewis, who has been with the department since moving to Iqaluit three years ago. "It's not often we get a lot of positive feedback from the community. There is, generally, but you also hear a lot of complaints about how we could have done better, how we could saved something else. It's very nice to see people giving back, particularly people that were so affected by this tragedy, coming forward and putting so much effort into such a kind gesture."

It was cathartic for second-year Inuit Studies student Christine Ekidlak, 35, of Sanikiluaq, who lost her home in the blaze.

"It's just to say a little 'thank you' to them for the great work they do," Ekidlak said. "We're very grateful and above and beyond happiness. I'm very grateful for them to help us with the fire and we're very grateful that they're there when needed."

She is still struggling to get comfortable with her post-fire life.

"I'm just going day by day," she said. "I'm not talking about how I feel (yet), but I can tell you that I'm very aware of my surroundings now."

Senior instructor Susan Enuaraq thought the project, which saw all 15 Inuit Studies and Interpreter/Translator students make a pair, would be good for both the firefighters and the students.

"It was a really good cleaning thing for our students. It was a two-pronged approach – one to help our students cope, and the other to show our gratitude," Enuaraq said. "I wanted to show gratitude in a tangible way. Some of the students who were affected by the fire said words are not enough."

Surrounded by his team, Rogers accepted the mittens and expressed his gratitude.

"It's amazing to lose a building and still have the community stand behind you and understand what a struggle that fire was," he said. "It was a large structure, a very hot fire that moved very quickly, and a lot of people had pretty severe frostburn from that fire. It was no joke. Very rarely do we get a 'thank you.' It's one of those thankless jobs."

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