Sandy Lake First Nation mourns loss of 11-year-old to house fire, calls for more resources

Sarah Law · CBC News

· Posted: May 23, 2025 4:23 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

Delores Kakegamic says she's bushed of losing children to location fires successful her community.

The main of Sandy Lake says the First Nation is mourning the nonaccomplishment of an 11-year-old kid to a location occurrence that occurred Thursday afternoon.

"Our firefighters person nary gear. If they had gear, they would person been capable to spell further into the house, but with each the smoke, they could lone spell a mates of seconds astatine a time," Kakegamic said.

The location belonged to the community's occurrence marshal, she said. A occurrence shield successful the location gave them capable clip to get the remainder of the children out. Many of the occupants were treated astatine the nursing presumption for fume inhalation.

Sandy Lake First Nation is an Oji-Cree assemblage located successful Treaty 5, astir 600 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay, Ont. Kakegamic says astir 3,500 radical unrecorded there.

There are 2 occurrence trucks successful the First Nation but lone 1 is functional, she said.

The Nishnawbe Aski Police Service (NAPS) told CBC News successful an email that 9 occupants escaped the fire, which was reported soon aft 5 p.m. connected Thursday. 

"When officers arrived connected scene, assemblage occurrence suppression efforts were already ongoing. A country is being held and members of the NAPS Northwest Crime Unit are present progressive successful the ongoing investigation," NAPS spokesperson Scott Paradis said Friday morning.

The assemblage is inactive grieving the decease of a kindergarten pupil successful a location occurrence successful precocious February, Kakegamic said.

In January 2022, 3 children — ages four, six and 9 — besides died successful a location occurrence successful Sandy Lake.

In the fall, Sandy Lake filed a suit against the national government, alongside Oneida Nation of the Thames, implicit Canada's backing of occurrence services successful First Nations.

"We tin accidental what we want, but it ne'er arrives," Kakegamic said of the resources she's been asking for. 

CBC News has reached retired to Indigenous Services Canada for a effect astir Thursday's occurrence successful Sandy Lake First Nation and is awaiting a response.

Fire prevention, planning

People who unrecorded successful First Nations are astir 10 times much apt to dice successful a house occurrence than those surviving successful different communities successful the country, according to Statistics Canada.

Arnold Lazare, who lives successful Kahnawà:ke, Que., is the interim CEO of the National Indigenous Fire Safety Council. While the origin of Thursday's occurrence successful Sandy Lake is chartless astatine this time, helium said astir fire-related deaths successful distant communities tin beryllium attributed to a deficiency of fume detectors, a shortage of firefighting services and overcrowded, inadequate housing.

"You extremity up getting a cleanable tempest wherever you person aggregate people, aggregate families successful an underrated location without a fume detector," helium said.

While overmuch of his enactment involves getting fume detectors delivered to communities, helium said, the astir important happening is occurrence prevention education.

For example, Lazare said radical often take down fume detectors erstwhile they're cooking and don't enactment them back.   

"There needs to beryllium a nationalist acquisition process wherever the household is made alert of what to do, chiefly the children and the elders who are the astir vulnerable," Lazare said. 

He encourages each households to make a occurrence information plan, truthful each members cognize wherever to find exigency exits and person a meet-up spot extracurricular successful lawsuit a occurrence occurs.

"We cognize that by continuing connected this path, we are going to trim the fig of fire-related deaths," helium said.

'The firefighters are traumatized'

At the clip of Thursday's fire, Kakegamic said astir fractional of Sandy Lake's firefighters were participating successful grooming extracurricular the community.

In summation to amended equipment, she said she wants to spot much intelligence wellness enactment for those keeping the assemblage safe.

"The firefighters are traumatized," she said. "They're near to woody with it connected their ain and they're having a pugnacious time."

With a caller national authorities successful powerfulness — and the archetypal Indigenous MP to clasp the presumption of Minister of Indigenous Services — Lazare said helium feels hopeful that national backing tin beryllium amended allocated to conscionable First Nations' needs.

Providing resources astatine the assemblage level is key, helium said.

"Part of our program is to advocator not for an summation successful funding, due to the fact that we recognize backing is short, but what we're advocating for is simply a much effectual usage of the dollars that are there," helium said. "It empowers the community."

Mental wellness counselling and situation enactment is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week done the Hope for Wellness hotline astatine 1-855-242-3310 oregon by online chat at www.hopeforwellness.ca.