A fire broke out in a house in the Pointe-Parent area last week. The house was saved thanks to the intervention of the Nutashkuan firefighters. It is part of a long saga of vandalized houses or prey to flames in Pointe-Parent
Firefighters from the Innu community of Nutashkuan confirmed that they intervened in the Pointe-Parent sector around 10 a.m. on January 9. A fire broke out in a house located on rue du Moulin near the Dépanneur Chez Ti-Can.
A cigarette butt was believed to be the cause of the blaze which was brought under control by firefighters after their arrival. The Sureté du Québec confirms that the incident was treated as accidental.
Home Buyback Program
Nutashkuan Fire Chief Danny Malec explained: “The fire was starting to grow. We intervened quickly, the fire was coming from the cellar, where a poorly extinguished cigarette butt had been left. There was a lot of smoke and the floor was starting to catch fire. It’s an uninhabited house due to mold, but we managed to save it.”
Since the official start of the house buyback program in Pointe-Parent by the Quebec government in 2017, the majority of houses in the area have been uninhabited. Residents, fearing for their safety following several incidents of vandalism, decided to leave the area after the government announced an imminent takeover.
However, the wait for redemption lasted several years and still continues to this day for several owners. It was not until March 2024 that the Quebec government announced that it had completed the first phase of the property buyback, which was aimed at resident owners in the area. At the same time, the government announced the start of a second phase for non-resident owners. This phase is still ongoing. The houses purchased by the government are given back to the Nutashkuan band council through the Nutashkuan-nu Assi house management organization.
Lots of vandalism
With a large part of the village uninhabited for several years, acts of vandalism have increased, making the majority of properties uninhabitable. Several homes have been lost to fires over the years. Although officially tenantless, several houses are used by members of the neighboring Innu community in the municipality of Natashquan, which is facing a housing crisis.
The fire of January 9 is therefore part of a long saga of houses which fell prey to flames in Pointe-Parent and which continues to this day. More recently, this is the second fire in the area and fourth in the region in the last 6 months.
Another fire in Pointe-Parent completely destroyed an uninhabited house, located at the end of rue du Moulin, last September. A fire also destroyed a house in Nutashkuan during the holidays and another damaged a house on Île-Michon last fall.
By Julien Greschner Local Journalism Initiative
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