Act to combat reserve fire toll – StarPhoenix

January 6, 2015

Whether it’s the lack of co-ordination, the absence of political will, wrong priorities or inadequate funding that’s at the root of the problem, the loss of lives to fire on reserves across Saskatchewan is a shocking tragedy that cannot be tolerated year after heartbreaking year.

The latest victims were a 10-year-old boy, Teegan Ahenakew, and his grandmother, 61-year-old Donna Kay, who perished a week ago in a house fire on the Ahtahkakoop First Nation, which relies for protection on the fire department of Canwood, a community that’s an hour’s drive away.

For those of us who live in the province’s major cities, where an eight-minute response time by firefighters is deemed too long with the objective to reach a fire in less than six minutes, the challenges faced by residents of often isolated reserves are almost unimaginable.

Read More: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/opinion/combat+reserve+fire+toll/10704732/story.html