A mother and four of her children were killed in a house fire on a northern Ontario First Nation on Thursday, leaving the remote community struggling to deal with the tragedy.
There was no immediate word on what caused the early morning fire on the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation, located about 600 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, Ont.
Chief Donny Morris said every member of the community of roughly 1,000 was affected.
"We are in utter disbelief," he said in a statement. "Today, our community mourns this tragic loss."
Sam McKay, a spokesman for the chief and council, said the victims of the fire were a single mother and four of her children — aged six, seven, nine and 12.
The woman had another older daughter who was away when the blaze broke out, he said, adding that three of her children were adopted.
"Most everybody is in shock right now," he said in a telephone interview from the community that is also known as Big Trout Lake. "It's devastating."
RoseAnne Archibald, Ontario Regional Chief of the Chiefs of Ontario, said others must act as the community grieves.
"As I continue to reflect on this tragic situation, it is with a sad heart that I realize that this preventable and unnecessary tragedy is affecting yet again another First Nation community," she said in an statement.
"While we mourn now, we will be looking to seek solutions, with all parties to prevent any future unnecessary deaths of First Nations citizens due to fire."
Archibald also said she had been in touch with Morris, who had asked community members not to post pictures of the fire or speculate on its cause on social media.
Provincial police are investigating, along with members of the province's fire marshal's office, coroner's office and forensic pathology service.
Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler of Nishnawbe Aski Nation, which represents a collection of Indigenous communities in northwestern Ontario, said a team of crisis and support workers will be sent to the community.
"Our prayers are with the victims, their families and the entire community during this difficult time," Fiddler said in a statement.
Both federal and provincial politicians offered their condolences.
"I offer my support in this time of unbelievable grief," MP Bob Nault said in a written statement. "In the coming days, I know community members will bring strength and support to each other as they work to overcome this tragedy."
Provincial NDP Leader Andrea Horwath issued a joint statement with the community's representative at Queen's Park, Sol Mamakwa, saying they joined with the people of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug in their grief.
"Our thoughts and our hearts are with the surviving family members, their friends, and the community," they said. "We hope they find solace and strength in community, and feel an outpouring of love from across the province."
A look at recent fatal fires on First Nations
A mother and four children have died following a house fire on a northern Ontario First Nation. Here are some other fatal fires that have taken place in First Nation communities in recent years:
August 2018: Two people are found dead inside a mobile home that burned down on the Frog Lake First Nation, about 200 kilometres east of Edmonton.
December 2016: Five people die in a fire that destroyed their home on the Oneida Nation of the Thames, a community south of London, Ont. They are identified as 43-year old Kurt Justin Antone, and four children — Keanu Antone, 7, Kenneth Antone, 4, Kance Antone, 3, and three-month old Kyias Antone. Oneida Nation of the Thames Chief Randall Phillips said after the blaze that the government had rejected a plea for money to upgrade 50 houses in the community.
March 2016: A fire on the remote Pikangikum First Nation in northern Ontario kills nine. The dead are identified as Dean Strang, 51, Annette Strang, 49, Gilbert Strang, 31, Sylvia Peters, 41, Dietrich Peters, 35, Faith Strang, 24, Ireland Peters, 4, Aubree Strang, 2, and Amber Strang, five months. Ontario's Regional Chief Isadore Day blamed third-world living conditions for the tragedy, saying Pikangikum had no firefighting services and 95 per cent of homes don't have running water.
February 2015: Harley Cheenanow, 2, and his 18-month-old sister Haley are killed in a house fire on the Makwa Sahgaiehcan reserve in Saskatchewan. The reserve had a working fire truck, but had never used it because it wasn't properly equipped and no one was trained. The band had hired the volunteer fire department in a neighbouring village of Loon Lake, but was cut off from services. The village said the band had stopped paying its bills.
March 2013: A 14-year-old boy and a three-year-old child are orphaned after a house fire kills their parents on the Wasagamack reserve in Manitoba. The reserve didn't have a fire dispatch service because of funding cuts.
March 2011: Demus James, 73, and his grandchildren Throne Kirkness, 2, and Kayleigh Okemow, 3, die in a fire in God's Lake Narrows, Man. The community didn't have a fire truck and tried to battle the flames with two water trucks.
January 2011: Daphne Benjoe, 41, dies in a house fire on the Roseau River reserve in Manitoba. Firefighters were left without water to battle the blaze, because the community's fire hydrants were frozen, not having had their annual maintenance the previous year.
January 2011: Errabella Harper, 2 1/2 months, dies in a house fire in St. Theresa Point, Man. The community's fire truck was broken with no fire hoses and no one knew where the keys were.
January 2010: Edward Redhead, 11, dies in a house fire in Shamattawa, Man. No one could find the fire chief and no one realized the boy was missing until several days later.
May 2009: Tristan Marcus Taylor-Mousseau, 5, dies in a house fire in Sandy Bay, Man. There were 12 people living in the house at the time.
February 2009: Hope Richard, 9, dies when the house she shares with 12 other people catches fire in Sandy Bay, Man.
