La Ronge Apartment Fire Claims Third Victim
Thursday, May 28, 2009 at 14:03
A 19-year-old woman who was critically injured in an apartment fire in La Ronge earlier this week has passed away in hospital.
The RCMP say Marsha McKenzie died last night.
That brings to three the number of people who perished in the fire.
The blaze also claimed the lives of her 20-year-old partner, Justin Paul Charles, and their four-month-old son, Jeremy Charles.
The Mounties are calling the fire suspicious, but haven’t made any arrests.
The scene remains sealed off from the public.
Meanwhile, a senior Social Services official says every resident of the Lakeview Apartments will be given free housing until the building is liveable again, whether they are on social assistance or not.
Of the 33 families displaced by the deadly fire early Tuesday morning, 15 are already covered by social assistance and don’t have to worry about hotel and food costs or alternate accommodations past the weekend.
At a meeting of government officials and community agencies yesterday afternoon, Social Services area service manager Jarrett Parker extended that same promise to the remaining 18 families.
Parker assured local officials that he will not allow the residents to be further victimized, and will use his discretionary powers to ensure that they get the help they need.
In order to ensure that happens, though, the families must register at the Social Services office in La Ronge as soon as possible.
The La Ronge Housing Authority has several vacant units that are being set aside for the Lakeview tenants for the short-term, and other accommodations are also being looked into.
Parker promised special needs and family size will be considered, and that people will be matched “to the houses that make sense.”
Chief Tammy Cook-Searson of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band stressed the importance of ensuring that the displaced tenants are treated with dignity and respect, no matter what their circumstances were prior to the fire.
In related news, the building’s owner reassures tenants that the building is 100 per cent covered by insurance, and he is already negotiating with building contractors who are able to do repair work as quickly as possible.