Nunavik house fire kills two

A Puvirnituq firefighter sits in the community’s new fire truck in 2012. The community lost two residents to a deadly fire June 17. (FILE PHOTO)

Police and firefighters in Puvirnituq are investigating two fires that destroyed homes in that Nunavik community last week — one of them deadly.

A fire that broke out in a local residence June 17 killed two Puvirnituq residents: one adult and a young child.

The victims cannot be identified until autopsies are completed, said Sûreté du Québec spokesperson Marc Tessier.

Quebec provincial police said June 23 that the fire may have been started by someone smoking in the residence, although the investigation continues.

Firefighters in the Hudson Bay coast community were also called June 20 to douse another major fire that caused extensive damage to a duplex.

The northern village, which just hired a new fire chief June 23, said it won’t comment on either fire until it completes its own investigations.