High winds likely cause of Inuvik ceiling collapse

High winds combined with building construction was the probable cause of a ceiling collapse in Inuvik, an engineering report has found.

A ceiling in the Children First daycare building collapsed earlier this month, causing a water pipe to break which flooded classrooms.

The report found that a ventilation gap in the roof may have caused the failure. The night of the collapse, a rush of wind through the rafters was too much for the building's false ceiling.

The town has said repairs will begin after all the assessments are complete. Grant Hood says the repairs will make the building safe and will ensure this doesn't happen again.

"The people that would be working on doing the fix actually have kids that go to Children First. So I am sure they will be doing the best that they can to ensure the safety of their children as well," says Hood,Inuvik's senior administrative officer.

Hood says the engineering report recommends the ceiling be fastened to the roof with a stronger connection.

The Children First building opened in 2013, following years of fundraising by the society, and was built at a cost of $6.5 million. Kobayashi and Zedda Architects of Whitehorse won Canadian Architect magazine's Award for Excellence for the design.

The daycare has been told it will be late April before it will be able to return to the building.