(file photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

RCMP investigation

Former tenants testify in apartment building fire trial

May 30, 2023 | 3:53 PM

Three former tenants took the stand as witnesses in the North Battleford apartment building fire trial in court Tuesday.

Naomi Jean Yellowtail, of North Battleford, 43, is charged with arson with disregard for human life, and breach of undertaking. The woman, who is in custody, appeared in court with shackles on her legs.

The fire at 1441-102 Street that started at about 1:30 a.m. on Jan. 3, 2022 destroyed the building and left many families homeless.

Crown prosecutor Scott Bartlett and defence lawyer Carl Swenson questioned the witnesses about what they remembered from the night of the fire.

Kuira Moosomin lived in apartment 106 with her sister, and their two children, ages one and three, at the time of the fire.

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She said she heard a fire alarm sounding from apartment 105, across the hall.

Moosomin said her sister poked her head out of their door into the hallway, and saw black smoke and flames.

“The flames were coming from everywhere — the storage room, the furnace room, the next door neighbours’ – across in 105,” Moosomin said.

“I wanted to get our children out,” she added. “I picked up my baby, and from there we got out, through the balcony.”

All managed to leave.

Moosomin said after escaping the building she noticed her own apartment caught on fire too.

“The building looked like it was ready to collapse,” she said.

Another witness, Jessy Pooyak, who resided on the top floor, corner suite 306, had a broken ankle at the time of the fire and was pregnant.

She said when she realized the building was on fire she went to her apartment balcony.

“I heard screaming from my balcony, facing the street, from people down on the ground,” Pooyak said.

That’s how she knew the building was on fire.

She told her cousin who was in her apartment sleeping at the time they had to get out.

Pooyak’s husband Ruben Oksasikewiyin also took the stand.

He said when he left his residence to walk to the 7-Eleven convenience store to purchase cigarettes, the building was not on fire. But when he returned, he noticed thick smoke coming out of the back door, which was open.

“I tried to do whatever I could to help,” Oksasikewiyin said.

He tried to go up to his upper level apartment but only made it up about four stairs on the stairwell because of the density of the smoke, so he went back outside again.

First Oksasikewiyin broke the fire extinguisher glass with the hope to help stop the fire, but there was no extinguisher inside.

He then helped firefighters pull out lines.

“There were at least a dozen firefighters there and about three [fire trucks],” Oksasikewiyin said.

He noted he also helped an older lady escape.

The trial is expected to continue until June 1.

The co-accused Keeanu Crookedneck was previously sentenced to three years in prison on Sept. 30, 2022 after pleading guilty to arson with disregard for human life.

According to prior reports, in total up to around 40 adults and up to 10 children were displaced as a result of the fire that destroyed the apartment building.

The building’s residents were successfully evacuated. Seventeen residents and six emergency responders were transported to hospital and were later released.

—

Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow