Without fire hydrants, this northern Manitoba community uses buckets to fight fires

February 7, 2025 Canuck

Volunteer firefighters in Tataskweyak Cree Nation have turned to buckets to fight fires due to the lack of running water in parts of the community.

“We use water [in buckets] to put out the fire because the pumps don’t work. Our hydrants haven’t been fixed in 40 years,” volunteer firefighter Virginia Audy told CBC News.

Tataskweyak, a Manitoba First Nation more than 700 kilometres north of Winnipeg, has a fully volunteer fire department and currently, no working fire truck.

It’s among First Nations that have never had full water service to every home, but even where there is water, almost all of the fire hydrants — which are at least 40 years old — don’t work, fire Chief Melvin Cook Jr. said.

“Some of them have been removed. There’s lots that are not put back where they should be, where they need to be,” Cook said.

A woman in a red jacket stands in front of a parked fire truck. — Virginia Audy is a volunteer firefighter in Tataskweyak Cree Nation, which has no running water in parts of the community and hydrants that don’t work. (Graham Sceviour-Fraehlich/Radio-Canada)

Fighting a fire in Tatskweyak is a matter of finding a solution on the fly, including getting water from someone’s tap if it’s available or pumping water from the nearby reservoir, Cook and other firefighters said.

“If it’s not in the area where there’s running water, then we just try to improvise it with what’s there,” Cook said.

While the fire truck in the community has a water tank, even if it’s working, firefighters use buckets to try to keep flames under control when the truck needs to be refilled.

A man in a yellow sweater stands in front of a green and yellow house. There is snow on the ground. — Melvin Cook Jr., a Tataskweyak Cree Nation fire chief, says some of the community’s fire hydrants have been removed and almost all of them don’t work. (Graham Sceviour-Fraehlich/Radio-Canada)

In 2023, an apartment fire injured two children and displaced 49 people in the community of about 2,500. The fire truck wasn’t working then, either, so fire crews from York Factory First Nation and Gillam helped fight the fire.

Two months after that, a 25-year-old mother was killed in a fire.

“We lost that fight,” Cook said.

Douglas Kitchekeesik, the community’s other fire chief, said there’s been a lack of action and transparency about the water issues by Tataskweyak Chief Doreen Spence. Spence became chief in November but has yet to hold a band meeting.

“People are frustrated because of that, because of neglecting to inform people. They haven’t had band meetings,” Kitchekeesik said.

“They’re making decisions without the people’s knowledge and inputs.”

A grey building with the words "Split Lake Cree Fire Hall" written on it. A firefighter stands by the entrance. — Tataskweyak Cree Nation’s fire hall has a fire truck with a water pump, but when it needs to be refilled, firefighters resort to using buckets of water. (Sanuda Ranawake/CBC)

Spence said issues with fire hydrants have been plaguing the community for years, and it’s part of a bigger issue — “probably about 120 homes that are not connected to the water line.”

The community actually has two fire trucks, but one is in Winnipeg for repairs, she said.

Band council meetings were cancelled because of three deaths in the community, Spence said.

“Some of those … funerals took a lot longer to have. I’m kind of surprised that some of our members are saying that we’re not transparent.”

A woman in a red sweater and a floral dress stands on an open patch of grass — Tataskweyak Chief Doreen Spence says she’s working with the federal government to resolve water issues. (Lenard Monkman/CBC)

Plans have been sent to the federal government for installing piped water in the community, Spence said, and they are in talks with Indigenous Services Canada about resolving water issues.

She and her council are advocating for better services for the community, but federal support is needed to build water infrastructure, she said.

CBC News reached out to Indigenous Services Canada about the water issues. A spokesperson said everyone in Canada should have access to clean, safe drinking water.

They are following closely on Tataskweyak Cree Nation’s lead for developing a water plan, the spokesperson said.

Northern Manitoba community without fire hydrants uses buckets to fight fires

2 hours ago

Duration 2:03

Tataskweyak Cree Nation has almost no working fire hydrants That has left the community of around 2,500 residents using buckets to fight fires.

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Without fire hydrants, this northern Manitoba community uses buckets to fight fires

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