Locals save the day after fire breaks out in Coral Harbour, Nunavut

Community members in Coral Harbour, Nunavut, became local heroes when they took matters into their own hands after a house fire broke out Thursday.

Hannah Angootealuk says her neighbour's house caught fire at around 2 a.m. early Thursday morning.

"It was really scary," said Angootealuk, an eyewitness to the event.

Angootealuk said when several calls to the fire department went unanswered, residents decided to fight the fire themselves.

"It was hard to just watch the house go on fire," said Angootealuk, who said she sent a bystander to pick up the local fire truck.

Some residents, who were not firefighters, then began to douse the house with water, she said.

Angootealuk said a man and his daughter were sent to Winnipeg for medical treatment, where the man is being treated for burns, and his daughter for smoke inhalation.

Most communities in Nunavut only have volunteer firefighters. But Angootealuk says in light of the incident, she wants the government to consider having more full-time firefighters across the territory.

The Hamlet of Coral Harbour declined to comment on the incident. 

But the hamlet office said the local fire chief was away on medical leave at the time of the incident.

CBC News reached out to the Government of Nunavut's Community and Government Services for comment, but has not yet received a response.