Yates Road Fire Cause

[Farmmaa]

This is a tough one....it sounds like the starting of the fire WAS intentional...they have admitted to finding a lighter and have admitted they started a "small" fire with it and then stomped it out (they thought!) so the fire wasn't "accidental", it was purposely set. They tried to stomp it out, but when they realized they hadn't they lit out of course. Also, by the sounds of things they might have been tracked down by Constable Fast & Furriest and that might have prompted the confession. Sure kids do dumb things accidentally, but this fire wasn't "an accident". I don't think they should be criminally charged - I don't even know if they can at that age - BUT that being said there definitely needs to be some serious consequences for their actions. If, at 9 and 11, they didn't know better than to light a grass fire for "fun", they should have. Most kids learn not to play with fire much younger. I'm sure these ones know now! Some community service - perhaps involving the fire department, forestry department where learning how dangerous fire can be etc, might be in order. I am firmly in the camp that it can't just be let go....this was just way too serious and could have taken a MASSIVE toll. Thank goodness for the super-prompt action of the firefighters, pilots, RCMP etc.

Should the parents have to pay any money into the coffers? Again, a tough one - there is always that consequence mentioned but has it ever been implemented? . Now, if those "minor kids" were 18 say....that would be a different story I think.

Hopefully other parents will turn this tragedy-averted situation into a teaching one for their own kids.

If they did not mean for the fire to spread and take off up the hill...which I doubt was ever their intention - then the resulting grass fire WAS accidental.

I'm sure these boys have already learned their lesson well. I doubt their parents gave them a big hug and a lollipop when they got home.

No, they absolutely should not be responsible for paying monetarily.
People 'waste' government resources every day.
How many hours are spent searching for missing people who were never actually lost ? How much time and money has been spent on rescuing fools who ski out of bounds or hike terrain they are unfamiliar with ?
And....they are all over the age of 12.

[skydawg]

Community service is an excellent idea

[dle]

@alanjh595

I am going by the reports such as on @Treeguy's post citing CHBC 5:30 news:



Re: Yates Road - Grass Fire

Postby TreeGuy » Yesterday, 5:05 pm
Cause Determined, two minors admitted to playing with a lighter to light a small fire. They thought they had stomped it out.

ETA: As reported on CHBC News at 5:30.

AND

@Frisk's post quoting Tim Light of the Fire Department:



Re: Yates Road - Grass Fire

Postby Frisk » Yesterday, 6:25 pm
https://globalnews.ca/news/4357674/4357674/

Two youths playing with a lighter was the cause of this afternoon’s fire in Glenmore, according to the Kelowna Fire Department.

“The fire is human caused,” said Tim Light of the Kelowna Fire Department. “We have two minor individuals that have admitted to finding a lighter and lighting a small fire, but stomping it out. And, unfortunately, I guess they didn’t stomp it out enough.

Both of these reports, IF CORRECT, state they DID LIGHT A SMALL FIRE - not that they "accidentally lit a fire". Sounds like they deliberately lit a small fire that got away on them after they thought they had stomped it out.

[alanjh595]

Community service is an excellent idea

To receive "Community service" they would have to charged with a criminal offence, and brought before a judge to administer that punishment, and create a criminal record to do so.

What kind of community service should a 12 year old have to do? Maybe walk the beaches and pick up dirty needles?

[ShannonG]

If this was my kid I would need several hours (or days) to calm down before I could effectively deal with punishment/consequences for them. Kids in the Okanagan are growing up in a different climate than we did; we have had to dash out of birthday parties, cancel play dates, race home from errands in town, all because of fire threats. You can't tell me these kids (who undoubtedly live in the neighborhood, which appears to be forest interface) haven't heard all the talk/seen the news/watched the smoke rise from the South Okanagan. It will be up to the parents to determine what their punishment will be since they are so young, but I hope they make it AWFUL. They may not grasp the consequences of their actions as well as a fully formed adult but THEY KNEW they were doing wrong; that's why they didn't do it in their own backyard.

[alanjh595]

Yeah, take away their favorite breakfast cereal for a month.

If you treat them too harshly, the Ministry of Children and Families will get involved and maybe put the parents in counseling and under the supervision of a social worker.

[dle]

Community service is an excellent idea

To receive "Community service" they would have to charged with a criminal offence, and brought before a judge to administer that punishment, and create a criminal record to do so.

What kind of community service should a 12 year old have to do? Maybe walk the beaches and pick up dirty needles?

Actually, the "community service" consequence could/should be handled at the parents' initiative. They could approach the fire department and the forestry department about it. I am pretty darn sure between them all they could come up with suitable tasks/learning experiences for this incident that kids of 9 & 11 could most certainly do.

And no, nobody suggested they be assigned to pick up dirty needles.

[dle]

The law says children under 12 years old can’t be charged and taken to criminal court. He or she can be treated through the mental health system or receive protection from a child protection agency. If the police catch a child younger than 12 doing something wrong, they will take the child home and tell the parents, refer the child to the Ministry of Children and Families or ensure the child gets treatment from a mental health facility. The parents may get other help at the school or in the community.

Young people are adults at 18. There is a special law for youth age 12 to 17. It is called the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA).

http://www.lawlessons.ca/lesson-plans/2 ... assessment

Age of Majority in BC is 19, not 18. Not all the Provinces are the same....

[dle]

@farmmaa said:


If they did not mean for the fire to spread and take off up the hill...which I doubt was ever their intention - then the resulting grass fire WAS accidental.

Sorry, I have to disagree here....the lighting of the fire in this case according to the quote of Tim Light of the fire department was that they found a lighter and INTENTIONALLY LIT A FIRE....the fact it got away on them after they thought they put it out and raced up the hill was the UNINTENTIONAL result of the deliberate act of lighting that fire, but, according to the reports,the fire itself was NOT "accidentally" started through no fault of those kids. By the sounds of things there was no CRIMINAL intent but that doesn't mean the original small fire they lit, on purpose, wasn't INTENTIONAL. That fire did NOT start by accident even though they weren't thinking ahead to how bad things could/would get.

[Whyme2]

When your home is in jeopardy of going up in smoke I’ll be sure to defend whoever tried to burn it down. You have my word!

Settle down. Seriously.
No one tried to burn your house down....and you really, really don't want to start talking to me about experiencing loss.

The entire fire lasted less than two hours. No homes were lost. No lives were threatened.

Yes, if it had been windy, things could have been a lot worse - but it wasn't, and the fire was put out quickly.

YES, children playing with a lighter is, in fact, accidental.

Settle down! This has to be the stupidest post ever.

The fire started at 1:00pm and helicopters were still dropping water at 5:00pm and crews remained on the fire overnight. Go tell the guys fighting this fire it it was less then 2 hours and threatened no one.

[alanjh595]

So how about charging all those high school students that go into the back country for a grad party ? Charge them, they actually know better and understand the risks of starting a fire with piles of pallets and then leave that bed of coals in the morning when they leave?
Are we going to start charging kids that break a window while playing baseball? They should be charged with vandalism and reckless endangerment.
Do you think that a 14 year old that stole a six pack from the garage fridge, and drank it with his buddy at the park, should be charged with public intoxication and theft?

[alanjh595]

My home was in danger from that fire, I packed some stuff in the car and was ready to go, it was that close.

I am not mad with these kids and I was directly affected.

[Whyme2]

This is a tough one....it sounds like the starting of the fire WAS intentional...they have admitted to finding a lighter and have admitted they started a "small" fire with it and then stomped it out (they thought!) so the fire wasn't "accidental", it was purposely set. They tried to stomp it out, but when they realized they hadn't they lit out of course. Also, by the sounds of things they might have been tracked down by Constable Fast & Furriest and that might have prompted the confession. Sure kids do dumb things accidentally, but this fire wasn't "an accident". I don't think they should be criminally charged - I don't even know if they can at that age - BUT that being said there definitely needs to be some serious consequences for their actions. If, at 9 and 11, they didn't know better than to light a grass fire for "fun", they should have. Most kids learn not to play with fire much younger. I'm sure these ones know now! Some community service - perhaps involving the fire department, forestry department where learning how dangerous fire can be etc, might be in order. I am firmly in the camp that it can't just be let go....this was just way too serious and could have taken a MASSIVE toll. Thank goodness for the super-prompt action of the firefighters, pilots, RCMP etc.

Should the parents have to pay any money into the coffers? Again, a tough one - there is always that consequence mentioned but has it ever been implemented? . Now, if those "minor kids" were 18 say....that would be a different story I think.

Hopefully other parents will turn this tragedy-averted situation into a teaching one for their own kids.

If they did not mean for the fire to spread and take off up the hill...which I doubt was ever their intention - then the resulting grass fire WAS accidental.

I'm sure these boys have already learned their lesson well. I doubt their parents gave them a big hug and a lollipop when they got home.

No, they absolutely should not be responsible for paying monetarily.
People 'waste' government resources every day.
How many hours are spent searching for missing people who were never actually lost ? How much time and money has been spent on rescuing fools who ski out of bounds or hike terrain they are unfamiliar with ?
And....they are all over the age of 12.

You do realize by now that this was more then a little grass fire right? My children by the age of 9 knew not to play with lighters or matches and we’re taught about the consequences.
I’m guessing this is something you didn’t teach your children based on your poor little Johnny didn’t mean to burn some grass

[Whyme2]

My home was in danger from that fire, I packed some stuff in the car and was ready to go, it was that close.

I am not mad with these kids and I was directly affected.

You won’t know how happy I am for you

[wanderer]

These are kids, and kids need to be handled differently than adults. Their thought processes haven't developed and they are still experimenting with life. They were brave in owning up the to fact that they were playing with fire and shouldn't have been. They tried to put it out, they did not set it to cause harm like our arsonists do. I bet they were running to tell someone and get help, not running to escape detection like an adult would do. Yes, of course there should be consequences but that should be left in the hands of the parents. These kids will not forget what happened for their whole lives, it could develop into a trauma for them and could be made worse by adults making it so. It can be handled with compassion for the kids, the teaching of a hard life lesson in itself, with knowledge of what could have happened to their neighbourhood. Or it can be handled with finger pointing, blame, anger, fear possibly leading to trauma if not offset with caring. I'm sure these kids are sorry for what they did, they could not foresee the consequences of their actions because they are kids. Now they know.

Maybe in this day and age of extreme dry hot summers all kids from a young age should be taught fire safety and the consequences if a fire gets away from a person. Lets be proactive instead of reactive.

.