Just before 10 p.m. on Wednesday evening, the Faro fire department was called to a fire at the community’s airport.
The warning came from the main terminal building’s automatic fire alarm.
It is believed the fire was caused by the 33-year-old building’s electrical system, said Mark Ritchie, the territory’s superintendant of community airports.
Nobody was at the airport when it happened, no one was hurt and the services the airport provides, like emergency and medevac services, shouldn’t be much affected, Ritchie added.
The fire was contained to the back corner of the main building, where the electrical system is housed and, while repair costs may be significant, construction on a new terminal building is already well underway, said Ritchie.
The only service currently shut down because of the fire is the airport’s radio service, which provides weather observations and runway conditions to pilots.
Even that service is scheduled to be back and running within the next few days, said Ritchie.
There was no damage to the new terminal building being built metres away, he added.
“The damage could have been worse,” said Ritchie, adding that cost estimates haven’t been confirmed yet.
Both Faro RCMP and Ritchie commend the town’s volunteer fire department for responding so quickly and effectively.