ST. THERESA POINT, Man. – Despite the efforts of a "heroic" band constable on a remote northern Manitoba reserve, a house fire claimed the life of a two-month-old baby, RCMP said Monday.
Six children, aged two months to 13 years old were asleep in the St. Theresa Point home when the fire broke out at around 12:30 p.m. Sunday, said Sgt. Noel Allard of the Island Lake RCMP.
Allard said an adult relative had gone next door when the fire began.
The four older children escaped, but a 16-month-old girl and a two-month-old girl were left inside the home.
A band constable rescued the older girl through a window, but he could not reach the two-month-old.
The constable and a community resident then used a chainsaw to cut a hole through the bedroom wall of the home to reach the infant, Allard said.
The 16-month-old girl was transported to hospital in Winnipeg as a precaution, but the younger baby succumbed to her injuries.
"If it wasn’t for that band constable, we would definitely have two dead," Allard said.
The cause of the fire is being investigated.
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