WEBEQUIE FIRST NATION — A family has been displaced and lost all their possessions after their home was destroyed by a fire last week.
The fire broke out in the Webequie First Nation home during the early morning hours of April 7. All eight family members were able to be rescued from the burning building.
Kiiwetinoong MPP Sol Mamakwa said he was able to speak with members of the family — which included six adults and two young children.
Mamakwa said one of the adults was found unconscious and had to be pulled from the home.
“It was really hard for him to breathe. But listening to him, it was very emotional because there were three or four times he had to stop and share his feelings,” Mamakwa said.
"He doesn’t remember anything until he gets pulled out.”
Although Mamakwa expressed that he was glad that no one lost their life, he expressed his frustration at the normalization of First Nations communities living without adequate fire services.
“What was very frustrating, but not surprising is they have no fire truck. They have no fire suppression equipment,” Mamakwa said. “The normal thing now in some of the First Nation reserves in Northern Ontario and that’s so totally unacceptable in this day in age. We continue to, over the last few years, lost a number of lives.”
The fire comes within months of a deadly blaze in Pikangikum First Nation, as well as another that destroyed a six-unit apartment complex in Shoal Lake 40 First Nation.
A GoFundMe has been set up to support the family.
