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Fire, shooting deaths leave northern community in shock

By: Kevin Rollason and Alexandra Paul

Posted: 03/15/2011 10:13 AM | Last Modified: 03/15/2011 1:20 PM | Updates

GOD’S LAKE NARROWS — This northern community is in shock after the fire deaths of a man and two children as well as the shooting death of another man by RCMP at the fire scene.

Demus James, who is in his 60s, died in his house along with his great-grandchildren, three-year-old Kaylene Okemow and one-year-old Throne Kirkness.

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The victims of the fire were reportedly two toddlers, aged two and three, left in the care of their ailing grandfather who was in a wheelchair. The great-grandfather was found dead by the wood stove that heated the home while the two children were found in a bed in a bedroom at the rear of the house.

Meanwhile, community members said Paul Duck, who lived close to the fire scene, is the man shot by an RCMP officer.

Band councillor Henry Nazzie said the shooting was unrelated to the fire.

"It just happened there," he said.

Duck was a respected member of the community who was reportedly firing his gun in an attempt to scare off youths who gathered in the area.

One woman said the officers guarding the burnt-out home saw Duck with his gun and "shot him in the chest and killed him. It was an innocent man they shot," she said.

In accordance with RCMP rules, an independent investigation into the shooting will be conducted by the Saskatoon Police Service.

A senior member of the Saskatoon police was headed to God's Lake this afternoon to launch the investigation, with support from the RCMP D Division's serious crimes unit.

RCMP Assistant Commissioner Bill Robinson declined to give any more information. "The details will be a matter of investigation," Robinson said. "In order to preserve the independence of the investigation, we cannot say more about the incident at this time."

Meanwhile, Chief Peter Watt said today the community has been asking Indian and Northern Affairs Canada for a fire truck in the community for 20 years to no avail. Watt said residents were left to rely on their two water trucks and a nearby fire hydrant to battle the blaze.

"Of course a fire truck would have made a difference," the chief said. "We had to find hoses and everything else. We had to find a monkey wrench to open the hydrant. It took awhile to find. We’ve been pushing INAC for years."

Yellow police tape surrounded what used to be a faded yellow sided bungalow. Some pieces of furniture were heaped up outside the destroyed home. What was left of the blackened walls stood out in sharp contrast to the freshly falling white snow. By the road in front of the gutted house, a large tarp with green camouflage colouring covered the area where the victim of the shooting was shot.

Today, Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Ron Evans called attention to the fact that the blaze is the fifth fatal fire on a Manitoba First Nation in under a year. Nearly every casualty occurred in houses that were overcrowded, lacked running water or were built from low-quality materials, Evans said.

"That would be comparable to 30 fatal house fires in Winnipeg, a situation that would not be tolerated," Evans said in a statement, noting that the federal government has set aside $156.3 million for First Nations housing in 2011, as compared to $284 million prior to 2007.

"These deaths are the result of the domino effect of poor housing, lack of water, lack of emergency services — an overall lack of infrastructure. We don't just need a patchwork response; we need funding to overhaul the entire system."

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca

alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca