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Cape Dorset fire chief puts skills to the test
Pauloosie Kowmageak competes in New Brunswick

Jeanne Gagnon
Northern News Services
Published Monday, Aug 27, 2012

KINNGAIT/CAPE DORSET
The firefighting skills of Pauloosie Kowmageak and five others from Nunavut might not be the fastest and most precise in the country, but their camaraderie was rewarded again this year.

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Cape Dorset Fire Chief Pauloosie Kowmageak was one of six firefighters participating in the National Aboriginal Firefighter Competition in Big Cove, N.B., on Aug. 18. - Jeanne Gagnon/NNSL photo

Kowmageak was one of six Nunavut firefighters participating in the National Aboriginal Firefighter Competition in Big Cove, N.B., on Aug. 18. The team finished eighth out of nine teams, up one spot from last year and again won the most sportsmanlike award. Team Nunavut has received that distinction five times out of the past seven years.

"It was a very good competition. Everybody had good times," he said. "We ranked (eighth) but it was a very close competition. For the team, it came together very well and the guys did extremely well. If you know the basics of firefighting, that's what it's about."

He added Nunavut's team is a unique situation as team members are chosen from different communities, as opposed to chosen from one community which is the case for the provinces participating.

The other firefighters on Team Nunavut were George Aksadjuak and Troy Innukshuk of Rankin Inlet, Atsaina Eeyeevadluk of Kimmirut, Jollie Enoogoo of Pond Inlet, and Iqaluk Toonoo of Cape Dorset.

Kowmageak said firefighters like helping out where they can. "As a fireman, that's our nature, really, so we help out at whatever we can at the competition," he said.

The one-day firefighting competition entails events such as rolling hoses, putting on breathing apparatus and connecting hoses. He coached at the competition for the past three years and this year he decided to try out for the team. He said he brings practical experience to the team, being a firefighter for 33 years.

"It's almost like a little reward for the guys that make the team - their commitment to the fire service," said Kowmageak. "It's always reassured when they make the team and try to keep the other fire departments training harder to eventually try out for this national competition."

Speaking from Moncton, N.B., a few days before the event, the 52-year-old said he became a firefighter in 1979, first in Iqaluit where he born and raised, then Cape Dorset upon moving there in 1982. He has been the southern Baffin community's fire chief since 2003. He's only had to fight small fires in Cape Dorset, said Kowmageak.

"Our priority is always safety for the firefighters. Things I wouldn't do, I won't ask them to do. It's always about safety," he said.

Kowmageak is married and has seven children, including two sons who are firefighters.

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