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January 3, 2003
Boiler caused Repulse Bay
fire
Faulty boiler equipment
caused a fire that destroyed Repulse Bays hamlet complex last week. The
hamlet office and adjoining gymnasium were burned to the ground, said John Kaunak,
the communitys mayor. All that remains are the metal stairways.
The boiler equipment had
been faulty for about three years, Kaunak said in Inuktitut. It had been fixed
several times but never really worked properly. The boiler room was connected
to the gymnasium, but a standby generator blocked firefighters access
to the faulty equipment. They made a hole in the wall to get hoses in, but firefighters
could not reach the room, Kaunak said.
The hamlet office will
be temporarily relocated to an old school, with additional space in a garage.
The offices should be operational within the next few weeks. New computers have
been ordered, "and once they arrive and NorthwesTel hooks us up, we should
be operational," he said.
As for recreation, the
community has another gymnasium, which is the largest in the Kivalliq Region,
so recreation will continue.
A new office will be built
after supplies arrive next year by sealift. Construction is expected to be completed
by 2004.
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