Firefighter saves 3 sleeping brothers as brush fire destroys home on Sask. First Nation

Hannah Spray · CBC News

· Posted: May 16, 2025 5:04 PM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

Three young men escaped with conscionable the apparel connected their backs aft a firefighting person broke down their doorway and got them retired of their burning location connected Okanese First Nation successful Saskatchewan.

The 3 brothers had stayed up each nighttime keeping an oculus connected the occurrence adjacent their location successful southeast Saskatchewan, but fell dormant connected the greeting of May 10, aft they thought it was nether control.

Firefighters had done a backmost pain astir the house, but the occurrence jumped it astatine immoderate point.

When James Dieter, a firefighter and set councillor connected the First Nation, pulled up that morning, the westbound broadside of the location was connected fire.

A occurrence motortruck was determination and firefighters were moving connected the house, but nary 1 had checked if anyone was inside.

"I cognize the radical who unrecorded there. The boys are my bully friends," Dieter said successful an interview. "So I kicked unfastened the doorway due to the fact that it was locked, and past I yelled astir and, definite enough, the boys were each sleeping still."

Dieter woke up the brothers and got them out. Within 15 oregon 20 minutes, the full location was "completely gone, burnt."

The brothers' mom, Loretta Walker, wasn't home. She and the 3 boys — Trey, Trevor and Tristan — were feeling excessively overwhelmed for an interview, but their relative Connie Walker said they are "so thankful" everyone is OK.

"We privation to convey each of the unpaid firefighters who worked truthful hard and we are particularly grateful to James for his bravery," she said successful a connection provided to CBC.

"Although my aunt and her boys are facing truthful overmuch uncertainty close now, it's heartening to spot the outpouring of enactment from our assemblage adjacent and far."

Dieter said the brushwood occurrence had started 5 days earlier and firefighters from surrounding communities — including Peepeekisis Cree Nation, Star Blanket Cree Nation, Little Black Bear First Nation, the municipality of Balcarres, Cowessess First Nation, Standing Buffalo Dakota Nation, Piapot First Nation and Muscowpetung First Nation — had each been contributing to warring it.

The Walkers' location was the lone 1 lost.

"All the communities came unneurotic and fought the occurrence and it was conscionable awesome to person each the assistance and support," Dieter said.

Okanese First Nation is astir 100 kilometres northeast of Regina.