A fire that broke out Wednesday night has completely destroyed an apartment building in Iqaluit.
The fire at 1088 Noble House on Mivvik Street started just before 6 p.m. on Wednesday. At around 8:30 p.m., the fire intensified and flames could be seen from outside the building, RCMP said in a press release Thursday afternoon.
By 1 a.m. Thursday morning, police said, the entire building had collapsed.
RCMP said all people living in the building had been evacuated, and there had been no reports of anyone missing or injured.
Nick Clark, the vice-president of infrastructure for the Nunavut Housing Corporation, told CBC News the government of Nunavut had leased 37 of the apartment units for staff. He wasn’t sure how many commercial units were in the building.
Clark said one of the government’s tenants hadn’t moved in yet, so at least 36 people were displaced by the fire. He said 26 of them were in hotels already, and that the territory was still trying to reach others. “Some of them still could have been out of town,” he said.
Clark said the territory had eight units available to house displaced staff, and that it was searching for both long-and short-term solutions.
“It is certainly a devastating impact to our community,” he said.
Footage shot by the CBC’s Cindy Alorut.
The City of Iqaluit posted an update Thursday morning saying teams had been working throughout the night to take care of residents’ safety and well-being.
The city said a warming shelter at Cadet Hall remained open Thursday morning, with donated clothing, food, snacks and help available to those displaced by the fire.
“In challenging moments like these, the compassion and generosity of our community shine the brightest,” the city said, thanking those who had made contributions to the relief effort.
The city also said city hall would have limited services on Thursday because staff had been redirected to help with the fire’s aftermath. It asked people not to visit city hall and, instead, to contact the city by phone or use its online services to pay bills and ask questions.
Police say they’re helping the Iqaluit Fire Department and the Nunavut Fire Marshal’s office investigate what happened. They did not say whether the fire was considered suspicious.
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