The Manitoba government is providing $50,000 to purchase smoke alarms for five First Nations in northern Manitoba.

The fire safety project is distributing approximately 22-hundred smoke alarms to Garden Hill, St. Theresa Point, Red Sucker Lake, Wasagamack and Cross Lake.

The project is being offered in partnership with Perimeter Aviation, which will store, pack and ship the alarms, and Bison Fire Protection, which will provide fire safety education using a trainer and simulator.

Statistics show death due to fire is 10 times higher in Indigenous communities compared to other Canadian communities, but the risk of dying in a reported home fire is reduced by 50 per cent in homes with working smoke alarms.