Pikangikum fire's 9 dead included a baby, 2 young children

A five-month-old baby, a two-year-old and a four-year-old are the youngest of the nine victims of last week's deadly house fire in the remote northwestern Ontario First Nation community of Pikangikum, police say.

The nine victims range in age from five months to 51 years old, and all died of smoke inhalation after the fire broke out last Tuesday, police said.

In a news release, Ontario Provincial Police identified the victims as:

• Dean Strang, 51.
• Annette Strang, 49.
• Gilbert Strang, 31.
• Sylvia Peters, 41.
• Dietrich Peters, 35.
• Faith Strang, 24.
• Ireland Peters, 4.
• Aubree Strang, 2.
• Amber Strang, 5 months.

The victims were all residents of Pikangikum First Nation, police said.

The cause of the fire, which started late last Tuesday, has not yet been determined. An investigation is continuing, but police said foul play is not suspected.

The fire in the small community, which is more than 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, Ont., prompted some to call for an inquiryand for improved fire protection services in First Nations across the country.

Alvin Fiddler, grand chief of theNishnawbeAskiNation, said after the fire thatPikangikumwas in dire need of better infrastructure including housing, water systems and roads.NishnawbeAskiNation represents First Nations in northern Ontario

"People are dying from overcrowding, unsafe building standards and a lack of basicfirefightingequipment, and more lives are at risk," Fiddler said in a statement released last week.

Chief Dean Owen ofPikangikumFirst Nation said the effort to put out the fire was complicated by the muddy roads and lack of running water in most of the community.

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