New milestone set for fire safety in Northern First Nations

Tim Brody - Editor

Fourteen individuals serving five northern First Nations graduated from the three day Ontario Fire College Fire and Life Safety Educator course which was held in Lac Seul First Nation last week.
The trainees represent Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug, Lac Seul, Muskrat Dam, Pikangikum, and Whitesand First Nations as well as staff members of the Independent First Nations Alliance (IFNA). “This training enables the graduates to be public educators on fire prevention, which will help make the five member communities of IFNA safer,” IFNA shared in a Sept. 23 media release.
“This specific training course provides the trainees with the skills to provide public education on fire safety in order to reduce instances of preventable fires and misuse (or lack of) smoke alarms, especially with children and youth. Each graduate of the course will become a trainer themselves in Fire and Life Safety, allowing them to teach their new skills to others,” IFNA further explained.
“These graduates will go a long way in helping to prevent fires, injuries and fatalities in IFNA member communities.” said Nicholas Rhone, course participant and IFNA Integrated Emergency Services Director and Regional Fire Chief, “Our Regional Fire Rescue team in collaboration with each IFNA community has been working hard on fire prevention, beginning with a smoke alarm installation blitz where we were able to have a smoke alarm either installed or dropped off to 96% of homes in-community. The training completed this week was a milestone step in reducing the gaps our communities see in emergency services.”
IFNA shared that this course is also the beginning of a training relationship with the Ontario Office of the Fire Marshal, “which will allow IFNA member communities and staff to take advantage of more courses through the Ontario Fire Marshal, provide training to others, as well as begin to develop these courses in Indigenous languages.”
“My office has been seeing an increase in fatal fires across Ontario and the need for public education on fire prevention and smoke alarm safety has never been more necessary,” said Ontario Fire Marshal Jon Pegg. “I commend IFNA Regional Fire Rescue for taking this important first step to continue enhancing fire safety across their communities. I’m pleased to know that the five IFNA represented communities are now safer with the addition of these 14 public fire safety educators and that the Ontario Fire College was able to support this pivotal training for them.”
John McBeth is the Deputy Fire Marshal of Training Certification and public education with the Office of the Fire Marshal. 
He was present in Lac Seul for the training and graduation of the individuals who took the course.
He shared, “What we’ve done here over the last three days is empower these students to be champions of change in their communities. At the end of the day they’ll take that education, those teachings back and be able to apply it locally to local needs and circumstances to make sure that fire safety is a priority in every home. We know that at the end of the day there are some very simple things that all community members can do to keep their homes fire safe. It’s the hope that these students will take that teaching back and apply it at the local level and have success with it.”
He added, “When we experience fire across the province, in some of these First Nation communities, we are invited in with the OFM to help investigate and we welcome the opportunity to help them get answers, so at the end of the day, this is a response to our challenges that exist across Ontario and really giving them the tools that they need to apply some fire safety tactics at the local level. Smoke alarms installed and tested regularly, two ways out of every single room, and a proper home fire escape plan.”
He said this course is the first of many courses and dialogue, “to continue on ways that we can support these communities because at the end of the day, the need that they have here is great, as it is across Ontario. We’ve committed to assisting these communities in making sure that we assist them and give them the tools they need to make their communities fire safe.”
Lac Seul First Nation Chief Clifford Bull told course participants, “Your hard work has not gone unnoticed. Today, you are equipped with the tools to protect and to save lives, and that is an incredible responsibility. But beyond the technical training, you have shown an immense capacity for teamwork, leadership, and compassion-all essential qualities that will guide you on the road ahead.”
Thomas Lebel of Lac des Mille Lacs First Nation works with IFNA and was a participant in the course.
“The training this week was good. It was very informative, very intense training,” he said.
Spencer Anderon of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation, another course participant, agreed.
“It’s awesome. It’s an eye opener. Some parts I had never been trained on…It’s been good information the whole week,” he said.
Amanda Sainnawap of Pikangikum First Nation was another course participant.
A former chief of the community, she said of taking the course, “Because my community has lost so many people in house fires and fire related deaths, I guess you could say. I’ve personally lost loved ones in a house fire.”
“It’s very relevant, it’s very important to be educated in this field,” she said of the material covered by the course.
“I think it’s a really good collaboration between the two partners (IFNA and OFM) and I think it’s a really big step in the right direction to prevent more tragedies,” she said of the course.