‘Hanging on by a thread’: Fire department of Canada’s most populated First Nation struggles to stay afloat
July 13, 2015
TORONTO — A string of suspected arsons, inexperienced volunteer staff and a truck ladder that isn’t high enough hasn’t stopped the fire department at Canada’s most populated First Nation from scraping by.
But as the Six Nations of the Grand River unit in southwestern Ontario grapples with relentless emergency calls, regular staff turnover and a constant struggle to make ends meet, its fire chief says he’s bracing for an inevitable disaster.
Matthew Miller said his department has about twice the call volume and one third of the funding as similarly sized municipalities, even though federal government statistics show First Nations people on reserves are about 10 times more likely to die in fires.
“As it is right now, we’re barely hanging on by a thread,” Miller said of serving the on-reserve population of about 12,000.
