The people of Kashechewan were hit with another tragic setback recently as the local jail caught fire and took the lives of two prisoners.
The incident on Sunday, January 8, also left an officer seriously burned when he tried to free the men by unlocking their cell doors. Another officer and a civilian guard were treated for smoke inhalation.
It was unclear at press time what caused the fire.
A visit to the site by New Democrat MP Charlie Angus revealed abhorrent conditions at the community’s only holding facility.
“It just was in terrible, terrible condition, holes in the walls, the ceilings were inadequate,” Angus told Canadian Press later that day.
“It looked like something you see in Sarajevo than the province of Ontario.”
In October Kashechewan became known across Canada as 1,500 people were evacuated in a crisis over E. coli-tainted water supply.
