Man in custody after school bus fire temporarily closes Pangnirtung elementary school

A man is in custody after a fire in a school bus in Pangnirtung, Nunavut, shut down the elementary school for the morning.

RCMP say the man will likely face several charges. He is due in court in the community for a bail hearing on Tuesday.

Alookie School was not damaged and was able to reopen in the afternoon.

The school's principal Lena Metuq says she was alarmed when she woke up to the sounds of sirens and saw smoke coming from the area near the school.

The bus, which was parked near the school, is one of two in the community.

She says firefighters responded to the fire around 3 a.m. Monday morning and were able to put out the fire.

Attempt to light school on fire

Metuq says she believes the fire was intentionally set.

"You could see the fire started in the back seats. You could also see that the person tried to ignite under one of the tires too," Metuq said in Inuktitut.

"When we looked at the school surveillance footage we found the person also tried to light the school on fire, but failed."

With only one bus, school days will be shorter to ensure all routes are covered, Metuq said.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.