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Home sustains 'major damage' in Inuvik housing complex fire

RCMP said fire 'is believed to be suspicious in nature'
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A six-unit housing complex on Inuvik's Inuit Road caught fire on Nov. 25. It took firefighters five hours to extinguish the blaze. Photo courtesy of Montana Lemieux

An Inuvik housing complex caught fire on the evening of Nov. 25, leaving one unit with "major damage," according to Fire Chief Brian Larman. 

The blaze occurred at a six-unit building on Inuit Road. The fire department arrived around 6 p.m. It took a team of 20 personnel using six fire apparatuses roughly five hours to get the situation under control.

There were no injuries during the incident.

Evan Lemieux, who owns the building with his brother Lucas, told NNSL Media he is "scrambling to accommodate all of the tenants in the building."

The fire department is currently investigating the incident "in partnership with allied agencies within the community," Larman said.

The RCMP confirmed there is an investigation underway, and revealed that the fire "is believed to be suspicious in nature." 

Lemieux's wife Montana told NNSL Media that the fire chief had told them it was "a man-made" fire. Larman did not address the possibility of arson in his response to NNSL Media. 

In a public Facebook post, Montana offered a $1,000 reward to "anyone who provides information that leads to a successful arrest." Both she and her husband are encouraging anyone with information about the incident to contact the police. 



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