First Nation residents in Ontario are ten times more likely to die in a house fire than people who live in the rest of the province.
That’s according to a new review from the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario, which found there were 56 fatalities in 29 fires over a ten-year period ending in 2017.
The report also shows that children under the age of ten are 86 times more likely to be killed by fire than people living off-reserve.
The review was sparked by the deaths of 14 people in house fires in 2016, including nine in one household on Pikangikum First Nation.
It suggests there are a number of reasons for First Nation fire deaths, including a lack of fire suppression capabilities on remote First Nations and few smoke alarms.
