Family of 11 Homeless after Fire Destroys House
October 22, 2008
THUNDER BAY, ON Wednesday October 22, 2008: Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Deputy Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler and Deputy Grand Chief Terry Waboose are pleased to announce that the Canadian Red Cross has launched an appeal to accept financial donations to assist NAN Elder George Wesley and his family whose Kashechewan home was destroyed by fire last week.
?We welcome the assistance of the Canadian Red Cross to help George Wesley and his family who were forced to flee their burning home in the wee hours of the morning,? said NAN Deputy Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler. ?This tragedy demonstrates not only the deplorable lack of firefighting equipment in Kashechewan and other First Nation communities, but highlights the critical lack of housing that impairs many of our communities in many First Nations communities.?
Financial donations to help the Wesley family can be made by cheque or credit card by calling 1-800-418-1111.
Eleven people, including children and grandchildren, were living in the house at the time of the fire. Everyone escaped unharmed and are being temporarily sheltered in the community.
There is no firefighting equipment in Kashechewan First Nation, a remote fly-in community along the west coast of James Bay with a population of 1,600 people. The community does not have any fire trucks as they are still waiting for federal funding to build a fire station to house them.
?All too often the cause of these fires is traced back to faulty wiring and substandard construction. The federal housing in First Nation communities is often put up as cheap as possible without regard for the health and safety of the families living in them,? said NAN Deputy Grand Chief Terry Waboose, who holds the NAN housing portfolio. ?How many times will our people have to sit and watch helplessly as their homes burn to the ground before the government takes action to ensure that housing in First Nation communities is safe and that firefighting equipment and emergency housing is available??
George Wesley is the father of Ricardo Wesley. Ricardo Wesley died in a jail fire on January 8, 2006, which garnered national attention on the inadequacies of firefighting resources in First Nation communities. Ricardo Wesley perished along with James Goodwin while the community was powerless to help them.
The Wesley and Goodwin families have waited more than two years for an inquest into the death of their sons. An inquest by the Office of the Chief Coroner into the death of Ricardo Wesley and James Goodwin was to begin in Cochrane, Ontario on October 20, 2008 but has been postponed to a future date due to the discovery that the creation of the jury rolls in northern Ontario may not be in compliance with the Juries Act. It is expected that the inquest will address the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Ricardo Wesley and James Goodwin as well as address the threat of fire in remote First Nations communities and the need for adequate firefighting and fire prevention services.
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