‘We Need Action’: One Dead, Two Unaccounted for After Pikangikum First Nation Fire

An abandoned house is shown on the Pikangikum First Nation on Jan. 5, 2007. The Canadian Press/John Woods

A remote northwestern Ontario First Nation lacked the facilities to extinguish a house fire that left one dead and two others missing, two local leaders said as they implored the federal government for help bolstering fire services.

The CEO of The Independent First Nations Alliance, a group that represents five communities in the region, said the blaze that erupted in Pikangikum First Nation on Wednesday evening has left its residents “crushed.”