SASKATCHEWAN, Canada — A volunteer fire chief is rejecting criticism aimed at his crews for not responding to a house fire that killed two toddlers Tuesday.
CBC News reported that Larry Heon, the fire chief in Loon Lake, said the town canceled its contract to provide firefighting services in a neighboring reserve more than two weeks ago because of unpaid bills.
It was not clear whether the lack of response had been directly responsible for the children’s deaths. The children, Harley and Haley Cheenanow, aged two and 18 months, were home with their grandmother when the fire broke out. She managed to escape. Their father rushed into the burning building, but was unable to save them.
The fire department is at least five miles away and might not have been able to make a difference “by the time its four members woke, geared up and traveled more than 10 kilometers to the scene,” the Canadian Press said.
RCMP were first to respond on the scene. Heon said he’s not sure how much help fire crews would have been because they normally arrive 10 to 15 minutes after RCMP officials, according to the report.
“I spent 23 years in the military to protect people in this country,” Heon said. “And now to have this thrown back at me that we just let people die in my own country is very saddening to me.”
However, Chief Richard Ben, with the Makwa Sahgaiehcan First Nation reserve, said they pay the fire department after the fact.
“I’m pissed off because we’ve always paid them,” he said. “They can’t say we haven’t put thousands of dollars into that department. And they’ve always showed up at every incident. We’re just pissed off.”
The fire department and the First Nation had an agreement that fire bills were to be paid within 30 days, according to the report.
On Jan. 30, the fire department sent a letter to the First Nation saying that it was over three months behind on payment. In the letter, the fire department said it would no longer respond to any fires until the account was paid.
Chief Heon said he received a 911 call from the reserve early Tuesday morning and did not respond to the scene.
“What went through my mind?” he said. “Protocol. I just thought about it and we do not respond to fires at Makwa Sahgaiehcan right at this present time.”
Heon said the fire department has a small operating budget.
“We have a very small department. How do you operate?” he said. “How do I protect the rest of the community if I burn everything, my resources, and not get paid for it?”
Loon Lake is a village of about 400 people and the Makwa Sahgaiehcan First Nation has reserve land adjacent to the community.