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Fire roars at dump again
Metal and wood disposal area catches fire in Iqaluit

Stewart Burnett
Northern News Services
Friday, June 24, 2016

IQALUIT
Just about as soon as the weather got warm again, one of Iqaluit's dumps burst up in flames.

NNSL photo/graphic

Firefighters, municipal enforcement officers and other agencies were all on scene when Iqaluit's metal and wood dump caught fire June 20. The fire was not fully extinguished until the next day. - Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo

As opposed to the summer 2014 Dumpcano debacle, this time it was a smaller fire at the city's metal and wood dump.

The fire began the evening of June 20, and wasn't fully extinguished until late on June 21. Large plumes of smoke were cast in the sky as firefighters battled the blaze, and the Government of Nunavut issued an air quality warning on June 21, recommending elders, children and those with vulnerable immune systems avoid the dump fire smoke.

"At this point (the cause) is still under investigation," said Stephanie Dionne, deputy fire chief, on June 23.

He had been reviewing all the information, talking to witnesses and looking at photographs to try to find out what started the fire.

Dionne credited the combined forces of the Iqaluit Fire Department, airport fire department, muncipal enforcement and the Department of Public Works in extinguishing the fire.

"The procedure we used was a joint force from multiple agencies," said Dionne. "When we arrived on scene we tried to go aggressively and put out the fire really quick, but at the same time we had all the city water trucks re-routed to help support us with the water."

Water deliveries to trucked-water homes were cancelled on June 21 because of the joint effort.

The fire spurred fears that the city's main dump might catch fire itself sometime this summer. So far, Dionne said he has not seen indication that might happen.

"At this time, I don't think so," he said. "It's not at risk for fire. The people working for Public Works are keeping a good eye on it for us and my point of view is that at this time everything is pretty safe."

Almost two full days of rain starting during the evening of June 21 helped dampen and cool down the dumps.

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