New Year's Eve morning on the Bunibonibee Cree Nation started with a solemn procession.

The northeastern Manitoba reserve, also known as Oxford House, is in the process of mourning the deaths of three members killed in a house fire Tuesday morning. 

Two days later, dozens of vehicles with their hazard lights blinking follow slowly behind an RCMP truck carrying the remains of three bodies discovered in the rubble. It was headed to the community airport. 

"We support each other very, very closely, it's always been our custom," said band councillor Tommy Weenusk, “and we are really proud of that custom. It's one way to make sure we show each other from our hearts that we are in support and all of us are all crying, broken hearted."

About 100 mourners surrounded a small plane on the tarmac. An emotional gathering centred around the immediate family of father and son, James and Jamie Crane, and their cousin Jastidee Sinclair. 

Community members believe the three are the victims of the fire because they are the only ones unaccounted for on the isolated First Nation since the blaze. 

As the bodies were carefully placed onto the aircraft to be sent to Winnipeg for autopsy, family and friends stood near to see the bodies off. Unable to contain their emotions, the crowd consoled each other as prayers were offered in Cree. 

The home is now no more than a pile of charred wood. Oxford House Chief Timothy Muskego said the volunteer fire department was called at around 7:00 a.m. Tuesday and once he arrived shortly after that, flames were already shooting through the roof. 

"Being a remote area of town we have no water main to that area," said Muskego, "we had to truck the water to a pumper on a steady basis and the pumper had run out of water a few times, so that hindered us from putting out the fire as quickly as we would've liked."

Band councillor Tommy Weenusk believes this tragedy could have been prevented. 

Like many of the homes in Oxford House, this one was made of wood, the inside was wood paneling which was largely held together with glue. It also had a wood burning stove. 

"We had our workers go in there and do an assessment and inspection twice and we knew the situation was that this house was already a fire hazard," said Weenusk, "but we never have the resources, there's always talk that there would be something like fire trucks or training but that never happened."

The First Nation will stay in mourning until the bodies are returned home for traditional wakes and funerals. 

The band council has set up a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for the ceremonies, and to get family of the deceased to the reserve for burials. 

Council members say each funeral can cost more than $20,000.