Teenagers recovering from burns
Whitehorse RCMP are investigating after three teenagers were burned at a bonfire last Thursday near the Hidden Lake area in Porter Creek.
Whitehorse RCMP are investigating after three teenagers were burned at a bonfire last Thursday near the Hidden Lake area in Porter Creek.
The three males, aged 13, 14, and 16, where part of a group gathered around a campfire when an individual threw what appeared to be gasoline on the flames, police said.
The group included both youth and adults.
The accelerant passed through the fire and ignited. This resulted in a fireball effect when the ignited gasoline landed on the three males and began burning their clothing.
The teens were all transported to Whitehorse General Hospital. Two were later sent to BC Children's Hospital inVancouver for further treatment.
Alcohol may be a factor in the incident.
"It appears that there may have been underage persons drinking and obviously an unauthorized fire,” RCMP Sgt. Don Rogers said in a press release.
"Police want to remind the public that fires are only permitted in designated areas within the City of Whitehorse or by obtaining a fire permit from the fire department.”
Rogers said this morning the injuries are not as bad as first believed, and the teens should be released today from Vancouver.
Police are looking to speak to witnesses who may have seen the activity at the fire prior to and at the time of the incident.
Investigation is continuing to determine what happened, and it is unknown if any charges will be laid, Rogers said.
Porter Creek Secondary School is planning a fundraising dinner and auction to help the trio and their familes.
The event takes place on Thursday Oct. 27 at 5:30 p.m. in the cafeteria.
There is a minimum donation of $20 at the door.
Advertisements for the event identify the teens as Giles Jim, Dustin Huebschwerlen and Jake Maynard.
Comments (15)
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flyingfur on Oct 27, 2011 at 12:39 pm
FranciasPillman: So if one of your kids was badly burned (2nd and 3rd degree burns that will leave scars for life), you'd tell them that you told them so and they got what they deserved for playing with fire and drinking under age? Your comments are certainly a lesson for children, but not on the hazards of underage drinking or fire hazards. My children and I had a discussion on this, we don't live in Porter Creek, and we made a donation to the auction.
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Porter creature on Oct 27, 2011 at 10:19 am
Many questions remain.
Who threw the gas? One of the kids?
Will the offender be charged?
Why are these kids out in the woods lighting fires on a school night?
Where are the parents in all of this?
Honestly I have little sympathy for these 'kids'
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Really Real on Oct 27, 2011 at 9:01 am
As a youth I could have hurt myself or other people around me by being careless and doing dangerous things. I was lucky to have escaped unscathed. Having said that, had my luck NOT been so good I would not have expected nor received any community support for getting hurt by my involvement in foolhardy undertakings.
Only those who were there will REALLY know what happened - assuming they were lucid enough to BE aware of what was happening. If the injured parties were totally innocent, that's different. When you get hammered up around a fire lit with gasoline, that's dangerous and ANYONE old enough to be out doing that KNOWS it.
Furthermore, the actions of these individuals could have endangered other (innocent) people had that fire spread. What then?
Empathy, support and understanding are all great, where they are justified. What ever happened to owning your own actions?
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Francias Pillman on Oct 27, 2011 at 8:08 am
Here's the problem. Them asking for money so soon, and demanding people pay a minimum donation. Remember the lady who broke her back in that car accident? I don't remember when the story broke that they were asking for donations the day it happened. Where are these parents money? They just assume they will get money from the community without thinking their approach is 100% wrong.
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The infamous "after-stab" of 76 on Oct 27, 2011 at 5:34 am
Yes, many of us have attended bush parties in our youth. I know I've regretted a few. Even so, being in the wrong place at the wrong time doesn't justify assault. No one deserves to be burned and perpetrators should not be left with the impression that society considers young bush party attendees fair game.
Let's not lose sight of the primary and immediate concern here; the individual who threw fuel into the fire needs to be identified and dealt with.
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Lenora Minet on Oct 27, 2011 at 1:53 am
What ever happened to empathy, support, understanding...Those with the opinion that they did it to themselves, hard earned money...rubbish...shame on you. These are young boys whom obviously need some support...There are some people I guess that never do any wrong or made poor choices as kids!!!Also Porter Creek is not the ones putting the fundraiser together, get your facts right...it is the venue.
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Laurie on Oct 27, 2011 at 1:02 am
...if you want to support them, support them with time & money the families will appreciate it,... what if it were your/our kids hurt, support is always nice however it comes...if you don't show support that's fine but don't pour salt in their wounds, I am sure they ALL hurt enough...I just hope the kids learned a valuable lesson...not the first time and not the last time a stupid mistake was made causing injury, we all have stories about that...good thing they all had their feet on the ground & were not driving & no one was killed or maimed for life!
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mc on Oct 26, 2011 at 8:53 am
While I don't agree with the behaviours, remember we are talking about children here.
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Francias Pillman on Oct 25, 2011 at 10:07 am
Insensitive? Give me a break. There was under-age drinking. Why is this the community's problem? How about make the adults that were there pay for it? I'm sorry I do have a heart, but this situation deserves no ones sympathy or rather people's hard earned money.
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bobby bitman on Oct 25, 2011 at 8:46 am
I remember as a kid having a bonfire and a lot of beers with friends out on an island. One guy threw gas on the fire directly from a boat gas tank. Of course the flame jumped up the gas and he ran backward carrying the tank, then dropped it. Another guy ran over and put his foot over the opening. This extinguished the flame, if there was even one in there, but holy crap, there were so many ways in that scenario that someone or a bunch of people could have been hurt. The reality is, this one off the wall 'character' was always doing stupid things like this. Every crowd of teenagers has one. The guy who hits rocks with his boat in the water because he is screaming and laughing and driving blindly and too fast, etc etc. What kids need to learn is to tell those types to smarten up, or tell them to just go the hell home. I'll bet the kids who got burned were not the problem, beer involved or no beer involved. The guy throwing the gasoline around needs serious attention.
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dg on Oct 25, 2011 at 12:57 am
Still not sure the reason for fund raising? Was there something missed in the article? If they weren't badly injured and released from the hospital already what is the money going towards? Maybe the money raised should go towards educating the students to be more aware about the dangers of fires and alcohol etc.
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Brittney Telep on Oct 24, 2011 at 3:06 pm
Because they're badly burned maybe? Obviously these boys needed medical aid and extra funds towards the situation is always appreciated. People are so insensitive.
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Francias Pillman on Oct 24, 2011 at 12:38 pm
Yup, why should the community reward stupidity? $20 MINIMUM donation? Excuse me?
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Tom Stevens on Oct 24, 2011 at 11:09 am
Its sad that these young men learned that alcohol and fire do not mix. I too am wondering about the school's role in this. It seems to me that a lot of crazy behaviors are occurring with PCSS kids and maybe its time the school administration start taking a more rigid position on behavior issues. I think that the "were all here for a good time not a long time" attitude needs to be reversed and you can't fix every administrative error with a hockey game or dinner.
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Any-Mouse on Oct 24, 2011 at 8:16 am
i don't see why PC is holding a fund-raiser for them. This should have taught them alcohol in the bush with their older idols is not the life.