Fire won't stop construction
About 10 per cent of roof on new airport terminal damaged but airport manager says work will continue
Casey Lessard
Northern News Services
Saturday, September 12, 2015
IQALUIT
A temporary membrane is covering about 10 per cent of the $298-million Iqaluit airport terminal currently under construction after a fire on the roof Sept. 5.
A Sept. 5 fire at the Iqaluit airport terminal, set to open in 2017, damaged about 10 per cent of the roof. - Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo
|
The government says the public will not bear the cost of the repair, and the airport manager predicts it should be an easy fix.
"The repair's been done," airport manager John Hawkins said. "It's a temporary repair. They don't have the building materials on site to make an as-new repair, but they covered the damaged part with a waterproof membrane and they're set to go so they can continue their work."
Repairs to make the roof as-new will have to be done after next year's sealift. The damage was limited to the roof, but went deep enough to require the replacement of the styrofoam insulation.
"I don't think it's going to be a huge effort," Hawkins said. "They roofed the whole thing in a couple of weeks, so it won't be massive, but they have to get the materials up here, remobilize, and go at it. There's not a lot that would depend on having it done before they can carry on with other work."
Insurance will cover the damage, he suggested, but a government statement said taxpayers will not have to foot the bill.
No one was hurt in the blaze. A cause has yet to be revealed, but the fire is not suspicious, Fire Chief Luc Grandmaison said Sept. 11.
In all, 17 Iqaluit Fire Department firefighters, two airport firefighters, six public works employees with water trucks, RCMP and municipal enforcement helped put it out.
"This building is 500 feet long, 200 feet wide, so roughly 100,000 square feet," Grandmaison said, explaining how hard it was to put it down. "The fire was almost situated 200 feet from one side, and almost in the middle, so just deploying hoses to that area was a challenge right off the bat."
The damage is roughly estimated at $1 million, he said. A final estimate will come from the insurance adjusters, who are expected to assess the damage soon.
"I'd like to say well done to our firefighters for their efforts on Saturday night at the airport fire that could have been a lot worse than it was," city councillor Stephen Mansell said at the Sept. 8 council meeting. "I'm very proud of our guys and glad that no one was hurt."
"Both (fire squads) did a great job," Bell said. "Although I don't support the airport project, I was taken aback that it was going to be burning to the ground. I'm glad they saved it."
Before the fire, the airport project was set to finish by late summer 2017.
"It is not clear if this fire will have any effect on the schedule for completion," a government release stated.
The frame and exterior of the building are almost ready, meaning interior work can start this winter.
At its announcement in 2014, Premier Peter Taptuna called the project "the largest capital project Nunavut has ever undertaken," with a new terminal, runway, lighting, and fire services building.
The project is a private-public partnership, with Nunavut contributing $68.7 million during construction, PPP Canada (a federal agency) giving $72.8 million, and Arctic Infrastructure Partners providing the rest as debt and equity in the project. The government will service the debt to AIP until 2047.
