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Canadian Red Cross responds to massive apartment fire in Iqaluit

	Flames engulf an apartment building in Iqaluit, forcing 24 families to flee in the night. Photo Credit: Jennifer Smith

On March 24^th, 24 families were forced from their homes as flames consumed their apartment building, leaving them with little more than what they were wearing. Despite an outpouring of support from within the community, it quickly became clear that more supplies were needed in this remote, northern community.

Luckily, a Canadian Red Cross volunteer named Bill Walters, originally from Newfoundland but working in Iqaluit as a consultant, sprung into action. He saw the needs and spoke with Mayor Madeleine Redfern about the Canadian Red Cross, and the types of support provided when disaster strikes a community.

 “In this situation where everybody lost absolutely everything other than what they were wearing when they walked out the door, the needs were immense”, says Walters. The Mayor immediately requested assistance and Bill made contact with the Canadian Red Cross.

	Volunteers Gary Cole and Jacquie Bushell tour the site of a massive apartment fire in Iqaluit, Nunavut. Photo Credit: Bill Walters

A Canadian Red Cross emergency response team, comprised of volunteers Jacquie Bushell and Gary Cole, was deployed from Ottawa to Iqaluit to help. Working with local vendors, families were provided with vouchers for food and clothing.  In the Arctic, where all supplies must be flown in, the high prices of goods required by the impacted families posed a unique challenge. “The standards which we use in the south are actually based on southern prices and southern realities”, explains Walters.  Assistance provided by the Canadian Red Cross greatly helped to address the challenge of purchasing supplies in the north, as did the Canadian Red Cross comfort kits, which included hygiene items such as shampoo, soap and toothpaste, which were flown in and distributed.

In the following weeks, the Canadian Red Cross will be conducting longer-term assessments to determine if additional support is needed. Canadian Red Cross emergency response experts will also work with members of the community to help develop a recovery plan of action that draws upon the tremendous capacity and resilience already demonstrated by this remote Arctic community.  For Bill Walters, and many others in Iqaluit, the hope is that this response will help further the relationship between the Canadian Red Cross and communities in Canada’s north.

Posted March 31, 2011