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Global News
5 days ago
- General
- Global News
Why are fire-related deaths higher in Indigenous communities?
Laura McComber's mind is more at ease. On Wednesday, the resident in the Mohawk community of Kahnawake, south of Montreal, had a smoke detector installed in her home, where her parents lived. It's her first one. 'There was never any alarm systems,' she told Global News. 'I don't think they had anything like that back in the day.' Fire officials estimate that only about half the homes in that community have smoke detectors, and that the smoke detector shortage also exists in Indigenous communities across Canada. 'Part of it comes down to education,' explained Arnold Lazare, Indigenous fire marshal for Canada. 'People don't knowingly not install smoke alarms. We found out that in many instances it comes down to economics where people have other priorities.' Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy It's why a coalition of private and and Indigenous groups have launched a pilot project to distribute and install more than 6,000 smoke alarms for Indigenous families across the country. They're distributing the alarms to 16 Indigenous communities, including Kahnawake, which is getting just over 500. Story continues below advertisement 'While [Indigenous Peoples] only make five per cent of the population in Canada, they make about 20 per cent of fire related deaths,' Ivanette Bonilla explained. She's chief communications & government relations officer for Kidde, the company providing the devices. 'There's a great need to raise awareness of fire safety education, but also access to working smoke alarms.' Lazare agrees. 'There was a fire in Kahnawake recently that the family didn't have a working detector,' he recalls. 'Their injuries are probably graver than what would've happened if they had a working detector.' Included in the pilot project is fire safety education, without which the distribution of equipment would not be as effective, officials say. 'That includes our tool kit,' said Bonilla. 'It has information on how to create a family escape plan so that everyone in the home knows what to do, including children.' The groups want to expand the project if this first phase goes well. Story continues below advertisement
Canada Standard
29-05-2025
- General
- Canada Standard
First Nations Firefighters Mobilize, But Deployment Barriers Remain
As Canada's wildfire season intensifies, Indigenous firefighters are mobilizing to protect their communities from both physical devastation and the psychological toll of evacuations. By May, several First Nations had already faced displacement. James Smith Cree Nation, about 160 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon, was evacuated earlier this month due to a fast-moving fire. Last weekend, smoke concerns triggered an evacuation order for Pimicikamak Cree Nation, 530 kilometres north of Winnipeg. On Wednesday, Manitoba declared a province-wide state of emergency "due to rapidly spreading wildfires and extreme fire conditions in northern and eastern Manitoba," CBC reports. Across Canada, Indigenous fire crews are expanding their ranks. Arnold Lazare, interim executive officer of the National Indigenous Fire Safety Council (NIFSC), told the Aboriginal People's Television Network (APTN) that 174 Indigenous youth have been trained and certified as Level Two wildland firefighters with funding from Natural Resources Canada. Another 256 are expected to be trained over the next two years. Experts say Indigenous youth fire training programs can be used as a model to prepare civilians in northern and remote regions as fires grow to scorch wider expanses. View our latest digests NIFSC's long-term goal is to establish a national Indigenous fire suppression team-a mutual aid system that could deploy to First Nations across the country, Lazare said. But jurisdictional barriers stand in the way, Lazare said, with no mechanism for provincial agencies to call upon First Nations firefighters. First Nations fall under federal jurisdiction, creating what he calls a "grey zone," similar to the military. As a result, trained Indigenous crews in Saskatchewan were unable to assist during recent wildfires, while international firefighters were brought in at considerable expense. Beyond the immediate physical dangers, wildfires and evacuations have profound mental health impacts on Indigenous communities. Evacuations can be re-traumatizing for Elders who experienced forced removals during the residential school era, as they are often relocated to dormitory-style accommodations reminiscent of those institutions, Lazare said. "The sad reality is that during an evacuation, we are taking people who would have been children 40 to 50 years ago, who are now Elders, and we're deporting them from the community." Children, too, are affected, as are single mothers or mothers with many children, Indigenous fire and emergency management specialist Michelle Vandevord, director of Saskatchewan First Nations Emergency Management, told APTN. "I just received a call from a community firefighter there, asking me to come to the school and talk to our children, because they're very afraid of fire now." Efforts are under way to mitigate these impacts. In Saskatchewan, a federal program provides air purifiers to Elders, enabling them to remain in their homes longer during smoke events, Vandevord said. And with wildfires being such disorienting events for First Nations, it is helpful when firefighters come from the local community or, failing that, from another First Nation, Vandevord added. "I think it's a great idea any time that you can see a first responder in yourself, not having to explain your situation or about your community, and having people responding to your community, who look like you, who talk like you." Source: The Energy Mix
