Ice and Fire A Deadly Duo

On Sunday night the deadly nature of winter in the Arctic revealed itself.

Iqaluit Fire/ CBC/Paul Moore

A house fire in row housing in Iqaluit , Nunavut , demonstrated just how frightening winter can be. In the intense cold with a windchill of -50C , the water from firemens' hoses froze upon contact with the air.

The vital time is always the very first minutes . That is when water can hold fire back before it grows ,  spreads and devastates .

When winter is so cold as it is right now in the far north , those minutes never come. The water freezes and cannot do the job.

Water doesn't work until the fire is so large that it changes the air temperature . By then, the damage , and in this case death , has happened . Nothing can change what is done.

 All that is left is a horrifically beautiful monument to the dead.


How sad I feel for the people in this community ? My heart goes out to them.

The full news article on the fire can be read at www.cbc.ca .

Ron Wassink , Iqaluit photographer has been on the ground in Nunavut. His photos and commentary capture the reality for the people who have been left homeless by this conflagration .