After another fatal fire strikes Pikangikum First Nation, calls continue for preventing future losses

The remote First Nation of Pikangikum in northwestern Ontario is grieving after its second fatal house fire of the year.

There were 11 people, including children, in the house at the time. One adult has died as a result of the incident.

The fire was first reported to police on Friday around 7:30 a.m., according to a news release issued by the Independent First Nations Alliance (IFNA). OPP officers were on the scene within minutes and used extinguishers to buy time for firefighters to respond.

Pikangikum Peacekeepers and firefighters then arrived and contained the fire within 30 minutes. The fire was fully out by 9:30 a.m. and the house remained fully intact, said IFNA. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

"This is another tragedy," said Pikangikum's Chief Shirley Lynne Keeper in the news release. "The fast-action response from all of those involved saved many lives, but sadly, we have lost another community member. This continues to affect us greatly, impacting every one of us."

Pikangikum First Nation is located about 500 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay, Ont. and has a population of roughly 4,000 people. In February, the community lost three people, including an eight-year-old child, in a house fire. In January, a 10-year-old girl died in the remote Cree community of Peawanuck.

We have lost another community member. This continues to affect us greatly, impacting every one of us.- Pikangikum First Nation's Chief Shirley Lynne Keeper

People in First Nations are 10 times more likely to die in a fire than people from other communities in Canada, according to the Indigenous Fire Marshal Service.

"We appreciate the support of IFNA who has arrived in [the] community and been working with government agencies to pursue sustainable funding for our community responders and to ensure supports are in place so we can prevent experiencing such loss," said Keeper.

Since Pikangikum's last house fire, IFNA has been working with the community, Indigenous Services Canada, the Ontario Office of the Fire Marshal, the Indigenous Fire Marshal Service, and the OPP, "to improve fire safety and response including ongoing smoke alarm installations," said Nick Rhone, IFNA's integrated emergency services director and regional fire rescue chief.

That includes delivering a new training program, delivered by IFNA, for community members to become emergency medical responders. The program saw 10 people in Pikangikum graduate at the end of March.