Fire at Forty Below

The FIREHALL at Cambridge Bay

I've got a lot of stories started...some will be completed after I arrive home. Thankfully, I know now how I'm going to finish most of them. With five days left here in Cambridge Bay, I've had many conversations providing some perspective on the benefits and hardships that occur while living in the Arctic.

"SPARKY" lives here as well !!

Probably none hit harder than the reality that occurred after work tonight. There are many things at home we take for granted...heat, electricity, and water..to name a few. Emergency services are another. Fire, ambulance and police are ready and willing whenever needed in all our communities.

Especially in the north, volunteers staff those positions and manage those responsibilities. Like most jurisdictions in northern Canada, policing falls under the local RCMP detachment. Usually, these are two...sometimes three person detachments. While I haven't met the officers here, I have noticed them driving around. Last saturday, I was standing taking pictures of the detachment, when the automatic door of their garage opened and their pickup backed out.

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of meeting the local Fire Chief...and twice since. He, also mans the ambulance, and has a capable staff of volunteers to help in both capacities. I've mentioned about the siren in town going off every noon hour and again at 10 p.m. at night (so that the kids will go home during those days of extended daylight). It's also a test of the warning system used to beckon the volunteers should they be required in the event of fire.

PUMP 1 in Cambridge Bay

We had one the first week I was here. A kitchen fire. An all to often heard story...grease catches fire after french fries are made. The good news is the smoke detector worked. Many times you are watching news casts and their live feed picks up the eerie sound of that detector still working. The chief showed me the detector, covered in smoke, half melted...was still working he said. More than one life was saved that night.

Here in the Health Centre, our IT Support Tech, doubles as the Assistant Chief. He had offered me a tour so tonight, we went across the street, less than 50 yards from our Health Centre main entrance to the fire hall. He opened the side door and we entered the first bay.

It saved a life !

It was warm inside but the pumper was plugged in. He explained that if the heat in the building went out, they would still be able to start the truck. On the side the emblems said CAMBRIDGE BAY. The red vehicle wasn't spic and span clean and gleaming sitting there. It had a coating of grime, but you have to remember all month it's never gotten warmer than -28C....haven't seen a car wash in town...don't think one exists. Why would you try?

Wired but working???

The READY ROOM set to go

Like most pumpers, this GMC truck #1 carries it's own water tank, for several reasons. First, there are no fire hydrants in town that I've seen so far. There is a water line running the main street and supplying the Health Centre, 2 schools and main government buildings. The remainder of the town uses water trucks for water delivery by the town on a regular basis.

In the Health Centre, we have sprinklers....just in case. I also noticed them in the library so the high school must have them too. At the back of the truck, stored above the hoses, was a portable collapsible tank. One like many rural departments would use. The fire response in this town is quite different however.

Once the siren goes, there are water truck drivers that also respond to the location. They pump directly from their tanker into the pumper's internal tanks providing a steady flow for the volunteers and their 1.25 inch hoses.

Inside Rescue 1

In these temperatures, you dress for the weather. Firefighters here are no different. Their gear is neatly hung in the ready room...boots, helmets and all. I can't imagine having to get ready to respond...but they have a dedication and feel a responsibility to help protect their families, neighbours and friends. The whole hamlet is the benefactor.

Next we moved on to the ambulance, set up not like we would expect in the south. While it is quite spacious, on first glance it was not what I had expected. On closer examination all the pieces were there...and our health centre is just five minutes from most of the town dwellings. It doubles as a refuge for the firefighters from the weather and an oxygen station.

The Search and Rescue BOMBARDIER

As the hamlet continues to grow, I'm sure that this will be the next new piece of equipment to arrive by sea lift. The older pumper is still on site....it's status unknown. But parked between them is a bright yellow painted Bombardier, and enclosed tracked snow machine that would hold two people very comfortably in the front cab with suffucuent space for goods and supplies in back. For search and rescue... a qamatik would be added to tow a couple of smaller snow machines. Hopefully, we'll not need that this week either. The weather, after today, looks cold but clear.

C.B.  F.D.  NU.

It's comforting to know that at forty below with the wind chill, there are people to look after us all...should we need it. It's just anther part of the spirit of the north...people helping people to survive the climate, to endure when needed, and to celebrate their families and this land here in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, Canada.