The deaths of two young boys last week were a grim reminder that people living on First Nations reserves in Canada are 10 time more likely to die in a house fire than are those in the rest of the country, according to a 2010 study.
Fire truck wouldn’t start
Solomon Ballantyne, 10, and his brother, Josiah Ballantyne, 9, died in the fire that also seriously injured a young girl on the Pelican Narrows reserve in the western province of Saskatchewan.
An emergency official said the local fire truck wouldn’t start. Chief Peter Beatty of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation told the Globe and Mail newspaper that he has been “hounding” the Canadian government for better resources to fight fires.
Little news on promised fire strategy
The government replied to a request from the Globe saying it gives $120,000 to the Prince Albert Grand Council for fire protection training which should include Pelican Narrows, and it provides $200,000 annually to train on-reserve volunteer firefighters.
A five-year strategy to improve on-reserve fire protection, prevention, and suppression was devised by the Canadian government in 2010. But when the public broadcaster, the CBC, requested an interview to get details, the government declined, instead sending an e-mail saying it was spending $30 million a year on the strategy, which is under review.
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