Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

INUVIK
Inuvik's volunteer firefighters have been put through the paces lately, with the crew responding to two different fires in just over one week.

Inuvik firefighters responded to a grass fire in one of the common areas at the Blueberry Patch last Thursday. Fire Chief Jim Sawkins said that the blaze very nearly set one of the abandoned row houses on fire. - photo courtesy of Donald Ross

The second blaze occurred last Thursday in the Blueberry Patch division of row houses.

At 9:10 p.m., multiple calls were received by the Inuvik Fire Department to report a fire in the housing complex, said Inuvik fire Chief Jim Sawkins.

"We were told it was about to impinge on the abandoned row houses," said Sawkins.

When he arrived on scene with a pumper truck four minutes later, Sawkins found a fire burning in a grassy common area between several row houses.

The fire was about 50 feet by 300 feet, and the leading edge of the flames was creeping underneath the abandoned row. By 9:16 p.m., a second pumper truck carrying volunteer firefighters arrived on scene and by 9:22 p.m., 26 firefighters and four fire department vehicles arrived and had the fire under control.

"There was a greater danger than people realize," said Sawkins about last Thursday's fire.

"We are in wildfire season right now. The grass is very dry. We will not get a deep burning fire this time of year."

Fires can spread especially quickly because of these conditions, said Sawkins.

Overall, Sawkins said that his crew had an "excellent response" to the incident.

"The Town of Inuvik can be very proud of their volunteer firefighting force," he said.

"The safety message I would like to get out because of this is for all residents to be very vigilant, and keep an eye on children and where they were playing," said Sawkins.

He strongly suspects that the fire was a result of a group of children seen playing in the common area just before the fire.

"There is very strong suspicion and there were children playing there (but) they took off," said Sawkins. He found a lighter at the scene.

This was the second call the volunteer firefighters had rushed to attend to in a little over a week. On May 15, 27 firefighters responded to a fire at an industrial building owned by Driving Force.

In that fire, the suspected cause was sparks from a welder's torch igniting the contents of a garbage can inside the shop area, said Sawkins.

The building sustained about $2,000 in damage but the lone tenant in the building was unharmed, said Sawkins.

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.