AUSUITTUQ/GRISE FIORD
Grise Fiord firefighters were called to the hamlet's fire hall Oct. 6 to put out a blaze at, of all places, the fire hall.

Smoke billows out of the Grise Fiord fire hall Oct. 6 after the hall's ceiling-mounted furnace caught fire. - photo courtesy of Jimmie Qaapik

The hall's ceiling-mounted furnace caught fire a few hours after the building maintainer turned it on early in the day when he noticed there was no heat in the building.

"We have a bit of a history in that building in terms of furnace problems," said Marty Kuluguqtuq, the hamlet's assistant senior administrative officer and a firefighter. "A couple hours later, around 4:30, we received a call on the fire phone and on the land line that there was a considerable amount of smoke coming out of the chimney of the fire hall."

With their fire truck and gear inside the building, firefighters were fortunate the furnace was mounted on the ceiling because they were able to get at the firefighting equipment by opening the garage door to let smoke out. Once inside, they noticed flames coming from the furnace.

"Once the truck was out, we were able to tackle what was at hand," Kuluguqtuq said. Crews were able to get their gear off the walls and attack the fire from inside the building and on the roof.

"The fire was contained to the ceiling. We were able to climb up (onto the roof) with ladders, and fight the fire from the top. It took a bit of work. It took us two and a half hours to get it under control where we were satisfied it was not going to spread. By seven o'clock we were all heading home."

No one was hurt, but three firefighters suffered from smoke inhalation, he said. The building had a "considerable" amount of water and smoke damage, and insurance adjusters and the fire marshal's office are in discussions about the fire and repair.

"The truck is OK," he said. "We were able to retrieve most of our equipment. We have moved the fire truck to another garage, and we're always short of space in the winter. In the meantime, we're taking the sewage truck out from one of the other garages, and the bunker gear will be in that location."

The furnace has been an ongoing "headache" for the hamlet, and now it is a write-off, as is the chimney. Unfortunately, this has created another headache.

"Obviously sealift season is over so it's too late to get something on sealift," Kuluguqtuq said.