(Photo of the remains of a house that burned down Tuesday night in Pikangikum. Facebook/Kyle Peters)
Jorge Barrera
APTN National News
A remote Ojibway fly-in First Nation in northern Ontario is “at a standstill” after a house fire killed nine people, including three children, all from the same family on Tuesday night, says the community’s chief.
Pikangikum First Nation Chief Dean Owen said the community is in need of the nation’s “prayers” because the sudden loss of the family has left people in a state of shock.
“The thing is right now is that we are in a very devastated mode in the community and we are in real need of prayers,” said Owen, in a telephone interview Wednesday afternoon. “The community right now is in a state of shock and everything is just kind of at a standstill at the moment.”
Owen said the OPP’s forensic identification unit was still sifting through the remains of the three-bedroom house on Dunsford Rd. to officially confirm the identities of all the dead.
Owen said the OPP officers on the scene earlier in the day were able to visually confirm five of the victims, four adults and a child, but it will take more work to confirm the rest of the family members, he said.
Owen said “the community knows” the identity of all nine victims in the fire.
The chief said the names will be withheld by the OPP until the official identification.
According to three community members, including a band official who wanted to remain anonymous, all the victims were in the same family.
A couple with three children, all under five years-old, were among the victims. The parents of the mother were also in the house at the time of the fire, said community members, along with another son and his girlfriend.
Owen said neighbours attempted a rescue in vain Wednesday night, shortly after the fire broke, but the flames moved too quickly, engulfing the house.
Owen said he received a distress call from a local bylaw enforcement officer shortly after the house caught fire.
“There were attempts to get into the house by them and by some neighbours,” he said. “It happened so fast…When I got to the area, the house was fully engulfed in flames already.”
The OPP said in a statement that the call for the fire came in at about 11:44 p.m.
A band official said efforts were underway to fly in the victims’ family members who are in places like Thunder Bay and Edmonton.
During a stop in Edmonton, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered his condolences to Pikangikum. Liberal MP Robert Nault, whose riding includes Pikangikum, also offered his condolences.
“I hope that the families, friends and community find comfort as we all come together to support each other during this difficult time,” said Nault, in the statement. “My thoughts are prayers are with everyone affected by this event.”
Pikangikum is a fly-in community which sits about 500 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay.
@JorgeBarrera
Our heartfelt prayers go out to the family and to the entire community of Pikangikum.