Why are fire-related deaths higher in Indigenous communities?

Laura McComber’s mind is more at ease.

On Wednesday, the resident in the Mohawk community of Kahnawake, south of Montreal, had a smoke detector installed in her home, where her parents lived. It’s her first one.

“There was never any alarm systems,” she told Global News. “I don’t think they had anything like that back in the day.”

Fire officials estimate that only about half the homes in that community have smoke detectors, and that the smoke detector shortage also exists in Indigenous communities across Canada.

“Part of it comes down to education,” explained Arnold Lazare, Indigenous fire marshal for Canada. “People don’t knowingly not install smoke alarms. We found out that in many instances it comes down to economics where people have other priorities.”

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