WEBEQUIE FIRST NATION CONTINUES TO STRUGGLE TO PROVIDE ADEQUATE COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE AFTER JULY 1, 2024 HOUSE FIRE AS STUDY FOR PROPOSED RING OF FIRE SUPPLY ROAD PROCEEDS
MEDIA RELEASE
Monday, July 2, 2024 | FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WEBEQUIE FIRST NATION CONTINUES TO STRUGGLE TO PROVIDE ADEQUATE COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE AFTER JULY 1, 2024 HOUSE FIRE AS STUDY FOR PROPOSED RING OF FIRE SUPPLY ROAD PROCEEDS
Webequie First Nation, ON – Webequie First Nation (WFN) Chief Cornelius Wabasse announced today that a family of (6) six (including one baby) living in one of the community’s newly built homes lost their home to a fire yesterday. Fortunately—the fire did not claim any lives. It did cause smoke damage to another adjacent home. The community experienced issues with electrical power and providing clean drinking water as a result. The water situation has not been resolved to-date but is expected to be in the near future.
Chief Wabasse said that the community continues to struggle to provide adequate community infrastructure as the study for the proposed Ring of Fire supply road proceeds. He said the following in a statement:
“Webequie First Nation stands with the community in their support for the family of six (6) who lost their home and belongings due to this fire. It is truly unfortunate that when a house fire occurs, it takes us a minimum of 1-3 years to replace it, and while so doing, our housing list backlog increases and so too does overcrowding in homes. It is a vicious circle that we need help escaping.”
WFN has raised the issue of the community’s inability to provide adequate infrastructure after fires in the past including, more recently, the loss of a new four-plex unit due to fire on August 24, 2022 and another home on April 7, 2023. The community received a wildfire rapid attack bush truck in March of 2024 but in the case of its ability to extinguish the July 1, 2024 fire—it was unable to extinguish it.
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For more information, contact: Carol Audet, Matawa Communications Manager at (807) 632-9663 or by email at caudet@matawa.on.ca
RELATED NEWS:
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- Open Letter to Govts & ROF Metals from Norman Shewaybick on the Demand for a Fire Truck and Fire Station Parallel to the Study on the Webequie Supply Road – April 17, 2023
- Matawa FNs Receives ISC Support to Secure 2 Wildfire Rapid Attack Bush Trucks – October 24, 2023