WADENA, Saskatchewan — An expired contract has a local fire chief concerned about emergency responses in a nearby community.
Last month, two toddlers died in a fire on the Makwa Sahgaiehcan First Nation reserve. The nearest volunteer department cancelled its contract with the reserve over unpaid bills more than a month before the fire.
That department did not respond and if they had, it is unlikely they could have saved the children.
“It was four years that they hadn’t paid and we were over $60,000 in debt,” Fire Chief Harold Narfason, with the Wadena Volunteer Fire Department, said. “Where do you continue going and where do you stop? That was our hardest decision.”
Narfason said the Fishing Lake First Nation received a letter about the debts, and a community board decided to cancel the contract due to the unpaid money, according to CBC.ca.
However, the department still responds to First Nation for emergencies that require extractions using as well as to support air ambulance crews.
Other nearby volunteer fire departments are now called to First Nation in the event of a fire, but they may be farther away.
Canadian lawmakers have argued over who is to blame for the poor fire protection on First Nation reserves. Some say that the government provides enough money for fire protection, but that First Nation leaders mismanage that money.
Either way, fire fatalities on First Nation reservations remains high.
Narfason said his volunteers have discussed what they would do if a fire started and lives were at stake.
“Whether we had board approval to take the equipment or not, we would, as volunteers, take the trucks and go,” he said. “If we get charged with stealing a fire truck, we would deal with the situation then.”
He said he is “terrified” when he hears of fires in the community, according to the report. Since the contract ended, he has heard word of multiple house fires and a fire at a sports complex. He said it’s a relief that nobody was hurt in any of those incidents, according to the report.
The Fishing Lake First Nation community has two working fire trucks, and they’re looking into paying the bill to the fire department.