Sioux Valley Dakota Nation house fire kills 11-year-old boy

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This article was published 27/03/2023 (894 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

An 11-year-old boy has died in hospital after a weekend fire in a home at Sioux Valley Dakota Nation.

Virden RCMP were called to the blaze in the Indigenous community west of Brandon at about 6:50 p.m. Saturday, Mounties said Monday.

While police officers were en route, they were told a child was still trapped inside the home, RCMP said.

Upon arrival, Sioux Valley Fire Department, First Nation safety officers and community members were working on finding the boy and extinguishing the blaze, RCMP said. The boy was pulled from the house and rushed to hospital, where he later died.

Seven people were inside the home when the fire started: four adults and three children, RCMP said.

None of the other occupants were hurt. However, a 65-year-old woman involved in the community rescue effort was seriously injured. She remains in hospital.

Law enforcement and the Office of the Fire Commissioner are investigating.

Chief Jennifer Bone asked for the family’s and community’s privacy as they grieve.

“Sioux Valley Dakota Nation is devastated by the recent loss, and our community is in mourning with this traumatic event,” Bone said in a written statement.

An online fundraiser organized for the family had risen to just over $8,600 by late afternoon Monday.

The deadly fire in Sioux Valley is the latest tragic blaze at a Manitoba First Nation.

A fire in an elders complex March 9 in Shamattawa displaced dozens of residents. No one was reported hurt in the fire in the remote, fly-in community.

The electrical fire destroyed the nine-unit building. Chief Jordna Hill told media the First Nation doesn’t have its own fire hall and its fire truck was in Winnipeg for repairs at the time.

On Feb. 11, a two-year-old boy and 17-year-old girl were hospitalized after the teen risked her life to save children from a burning apartment complex in Tataskweyak. Ten families were displaced in the blaze.

Shenika Chornoby rushed into the building to help Ronnie Wavey and four of his siblings escape their burning second-floor suite. She was later airlifted about 900 kilometres south to Winnipeg for treatment and recovery.

Ronnie was severely burned and airlifted on to Edmonton for treatment, his family said at the time.

Chornoby was honoured at the Manitoba legislature March 9, where she received the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal to recognize extraordinary achievements.

Tataskweyak Chief Taralee Beardy, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak have called for more fire safety support from governments for northern First Nations.

Previsously, AMC Grand Chief Cathy Merrick said multiple northern communities do not have the resources or funding to establish their own fire department nor to purchase appropriate equipment.

Merrick called for Indigenous Services Canada to ensure First Nations are prepared to respond and prevent fires in their communities.

A spokesman for Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu said earlier this month the federal minister’s office is working closely with the national Assembly of First Nations to develop a new fire protection strategy.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @erik_pindera