Family members were expected to attend the opening Monday of a coroner's inquest into the 2006 deaths of two men who burned to death while in police custody on the Kashechewan reserve.

Ricardo Wesley and James Goodwin burned to death on Jan. 8, 2006, while being held at the Kashechewan First Nation police detachment.

The men, who were locked in cells, died after a fire started in the building that housed the jail. An officer was seriously injured while trying to open the cell doors.

Both men were in their early 20s.

Coroner counsel Margaret Creal said witnesses were expected to testify that police frantically tried to free the men as smoke filled the building but fumbled with unlabelled keys and were unsuccessful.

Julian Falconer, lawyer for the Wesley family, said the family has been waiting a long time for answers and is content the inquest is finally going forward after procedural delays.

He said he hopes that enhancing policing for aboriginal communities will be addressed.

"Federal and provincial governments have promised, have contractually agreed, that First Nations would receive the same level of police services as non-First Nations communities in similar circumstances," he said.

At the time of the fire, New Democrat MP Charlie Angus described the jail as "more like something you see in Sarajevo than the province of Ontario."

It just was in terrible, terrible condition, holes in the walls, the cells were inadequate," he told the Canadian Press.

Band officials blamed inadequate firefighting resources on the reserve.

Jurors visit site of fire

Earlier this year, five inquiry jurors visited Kashechewan, including the site of the fire. The inquest is taking place in Toronto.

By law, an inquest is required when a person dies while in custody. Dr. David Eden is presiding as inquest coroner.

The Kashechewan First Nation gained national prominence four years ago when the federal government ordered the evacuation of the reserve after E. coli was found in the waters supply.

Located about 10 kilometres upstream from James Bay on the Albany River, the community is susceptible to springtime flooding.

After two mass evacuations in 2005, a federal report recommended the community be relocated about 480 km south to the outskirts of Timmins, the nearest major centre.

The community rejected that plan. Former Indian Affairs minister Jim Prentice turned down a request by band leaders to move the community to higher ground within their traditional hunting grounds, but committed $200 million to rebuild the reserve at its present location.

With files from the Canadian Press