Aklavik’s Community Wellness Office has been completely destroyed by a fire, just days after it held its open house.
A video shared on social media Sept. 4 shows the blue duplex, which sat opposite the Northern Store, ablaze. Photos the next day show the smoldering remains of the building.
“The structure was reported to be unoccupied at the time of the fire and the local fire department attended to try and keep the fire from spreading,” said NT RCMP media relations officer Cpl. Matt Halstead. “The RCMP detachment in Aklavik and the officer’s residences were in close proximity to this building and were temporarily evacuated for safety.”
Halstead added the fire was not deemed suspicious and RCMP were not investigating. No injuries were reported in the blaze as the building was unoccupied, nor were any injuries reported in the suppression of the fire.
The community wellness centre held an open house on Sept. 1, gathering feedback and offering details of the programming that was to be offered at the facility. The office had only reached out to hire a community support worker at the start of August.
According to the job description, the office was to be used by the support work to coordinate health and social services to help develop programs to assist in addictions prevention, family violence prevention, as well as help spread awareness of on-the-land programs and opportunities for education.
Inuvik Drum has reached out to the Aklavik Indian Band for more information on the incident and how services will be provided now.