Fatal fire on Northern Ontario reserve highlights inadequate resources

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A remote Ontario indigenous community is mourning the loss of nine people – three of them small children – who died when fire consumed their crowded home, a recurring tragedy in Canada's fly-in communities, which often have no running water to douse the flames.

The blaze in Pikangikum broke out late on Tuesday evening and, although the firefighters and police who serve the town of about 3,000 raced to the scene, no one was pulled out alive. The dead were all members of the same family, sources said. They included Dean and Annette Strang; their son, Gilbert, and his partner; their daughter, Faith, and her partner; and Faith's three children, none of whom was older than five.

House fires strike with deadly frequency on First Nations reserves – a function of shoddy construction, overcrowding and the lack of running water. A 2011 report completed for the federal government found that the incidence of fires at First Nations sites was 2.4 per cent higher than for the rest of Canada, and that First Nations people are 10 times more likely than other Canadians to die in house fires.

"We've been saying for many years the housing situation that we're in is inadequate and does not meet the standards of any home in the province of Ontario," Pikangikum Chief Dean Owen said. "Ninety per cent of homes don't have plumbing or running water, and we have limited funds to build homes that are safe."

When people talk about the First Nations communities that are in dire need of infrastructure, Pikangikum is at the top of the list, said Alvin Fiddler, the Grand Chief of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN), which represents 49 First Nation communities in northern Ontario.

That includes the water system. The people of Pikangikum still use outhouses, he said, "and there is virtually no fire suppression capacity, no fire trucks, because there is no running water, and no fire hydrants."

When a home catches fire on a reserve that is so lacking in services, it usually burns to the ground.

"You hope that you can get the people out," Mr. Fiddler said, "but it's obvious that, with the tragedy last night, that didn't happen."

Other First Nations in Mr. Fiddler's region have endured similar tragedies in recent years. In 2014, a fire in Mishkeegogamang killed a mother, her two young daughters and a nephew. A blaze the previous year in Wunnumin Lake killed two young children and their 21-year-old aunt. And two boys, ages 2 and 3, died in a fire in Nibinamik in 2013.

The problem exists on reserves across Canada.

Mr. Fiddler said it is time for the federal and provincial governments to start working on both short-term and long-term solutions.

As a first step to preventing future fire deaths, the homes on all remote First Nations should be equipped with fire extinguishers and smoke detectors, Mr. Fiddler said. And proper insulation should be installed behind the wood stoves that are the only source of heat for many families, he added.

The Liberal government in Ottawa has promised to spend $1.8-billion over five years – going one year past its current mandate – to improve water systems on reserves. But that does not mean communities such as Pikangikum will get the fire infrastructure that could save lives.

The toll on Tuesday night, which was large by any standard, is one more tragedy in a community that has been battling a long-term suicide epidemic. By late Wednesday afternoon, the federal government had dispatched a trauma team to provide counselling and support.

The emotional health of already fragile people is the top concern, Mr. Fiddler said. The loss of nine lives "doesn't just affect the one family, it affects the whole community, so we have to make sure especially our youth and children feel that they have the access to the supports that they will need in the coming days."

Local MP Robert Nault said he planned to meet on Thursday with health ministers to discuss what he called "the crisis in the North."

"Not specifically about this incident, but obviously to talk about mental health, health-care delivery, the suicides," he said. "Pikangikum has the largest suicide rate of any community in the western world, … I think over 400 in the last couple of decades."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered his condolences to the community and said his government will work to improve conditions for First Nations people.

"We continue to be engaged with provincial and indigenous leadership on how to build better infrastructure, how to secure the future for indigenous youth and their communities," he said during a visit to Edmonton. "This is not just about the moral, right thing to do. It's about investing in our shared future in this country."

With a report from The Canadian Press