Skip to content

Community rallies around family displaced by house fire

A Sept. 28 fire destroyed a home in Kugluktuk and has forced a mother, father and her two teenage children to seek refuge with relatives.

Residents have been donating essential supplies to the family.

"The whole community is pitching in to get them whatever they need," said Kugluktuk Fire Chief Gordon Hikomak.

The blaze, which is still under investigation, broke out around 2 a.m. in the one-storey, three-bedroom home. The occupants were out of the building before the fire crew arrived, Hikomak said.

"It was really bad. As soon as we made it there, it was really in flames," he said of the scene. "The whole building was on fire really fast because the wind was a west wind. It made it worse."

Eleven firefighters responded and it took them close to four hours to fully extinguish the fire. Water trucks were needed to combat the blaze after the pump on the fire truck broke down about 15 minutes after it was deployed.