First Nation where 3 died lacks fire truck
CBC News | Posted: March 15, 2011 8:09 PM | Last Updated: March 15, 2011
Three people killed Monday in a house fire on a Manitoba First Nation didn't have a chance because the community has no fire truck, the chief says.
"What we have is no hope of putting the fire out within time. It's just a matter of of keeping the fire contained and not have it spread to other houses," said God's Lake Narrows Chief Peter Watt.
Two young children and a community elder in the community, located 850 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, died in the blaze.
David Harper, grand chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO), an organization representing most First Nations in the province's north, said a one-year-old boy and a three-year-old girl died along with their grandfather.
'What we have is no hope of putting the fire out within time.' —Peter Watt, chief of God's Lake Narrows
The blaze destroyed their wooden home around 11 a.m.
About 200 members of the community rushed to help but with no fire truck, all they had to work with were two water delivery trucks, Watt said.
They took turns with the hose as the home burned for at least two hours.
Compounding the situation is the fact that the man's wife and a teenager who also lived in the residence are now homeless with only the clothes on their back, Harper stated in a press release sent out Tuesday.
Man shot, killed
Also adding to the tragedy is a shooting death that occurred on the reserve Tuesday morning.
According to RCMP Assistant Commissioner Bill Robinson, two members of the force were guarding the scene of the fire when one of them shot and killed a man.
Watt identified the man to CBC News as a distant relative of the elder who died in the fire.
The Saskatoon Police Service (SPS), tasked as the external agency to investigate the shooting, released a statement Tuesday saying the RCMP members were confronted by an armed man when the shooting occurred.
Alyson Edwards, SPS spokeswoman, said she does not yet know what kind of weapon the man had. A senior member of the force is on his way to the reserve.
Donations accepted for family
Meanwhile, the MKO, the Awasis child and family services agency, and the Keewatin Tribal Council have put together a crisis team, comprised of elders and the local parish priest, to work with the grieving family and community members, Harper said.
He also said the MKO is accepting donations to help the family rebuild their lives and home. Donations for clothing, household goods and furniture can be made through the MKO offices in Winnipeg and Thompson, or by calling 1-800-442-0488.
The Manitoba Office of the Fire Commissioner continues to investigate and determined the cause of the fire.