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Fire in Tataskweyak kills young woman, chief says

Northern Manitoba First Nation has purchased a fire truck since a February fire that destroyed an apartment complex but hasn’t been able to train firefighters how to use it yet.
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Tataskweyak Cree Nation chief Tara Lee Beardy said April 3 that a fire in the community has killed a young woman.

The chief of Tatasdkwyeak Cree Nation says a fire has claimed the life of a young woman.

Chief Tara Lee Beardy said in an Apr. 3 press release that the federal government needs to fulfill its obligations to First Nations which do not have adequate resources to prevent and battle fires.

Since the time of a February fire that injured a toddler and a 17-year-old and left nine families homeless but did not result in any loss of life, thanks to the teenager’s heroic actions to warn apartment residents that their building was on fire, TCN has purchased a fire truck, Beardy said.

“While waiting for Indigenous Services Canada to act, we scraped together what funds we had and purchased a fire truck and received it in late March,” she said. “But we had no one available to train our personnel how to property use it. The results were fatal.”

Thompson Rural RCMP received a report of a fire on Airport Road in split Lake around 11 p.m. April 2 and attended the scene alongside the TCN fire department. Once the fire was under control, firefighters entered the home and found the body of a 25-year-old woman. The causes of the fire remains under investigation by Thompson Rural RCMP and the Office of the Fire Commissioner.

Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak’s mobile crisis response team and its MMIWG unit are taking action to support Tataskweyak in the wake of the loss, said MKO Grand Chief Garrison Settee. 

“Everyone feels the loss in a small community when something tragic happens,” he said. “We recognize this and we will be doing everything we can to help TCN. This tragedy could have been prevented.”

Grand Chief Walter Wastesicoot of Keewatin Tribal Council, which represents 11 Northern Manitoba First Nations, said the fact that little has changed in Tataskweyak since the Feb. 11 fire is appalling.

“Another tragic fire which cost a life this time leaves me disheartened,” she said. “We needed more action from the government and didn’t receive it. We need more action from them to give us the ability to fight fires in our communities.”

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