No doubt everyone has heard or seen some news clip about the Christmas fire in Connecticut that killed five members of one family. It seems to have attracted a little more attention than the numerous fatal fires that occur across the country nearly every day, I suppose because it happened in a large, expensive house in a fancy neighborhood.
Reports concerning the origin of the fire soon surfaced:
"a family friend who had worked on the home as a contractor ... according to firefighters, is believed to have placed the ashes in or outside an entryway, near the trash."
This is of course a huge tragedy, and I don't mean to disparage the sorrow of the woman whose parents and three children died, or the undoubted guilt being experienced by the "family friend," but geezo-peezo, I'm really bowled over by how dumb this guy - a contractor, no less - must be. Mistakes can happen, and many people wander through life unconscious, but even a caveman should know better: "Hey, Unggh, dis red stuff hot! Make fire!" I guess it's a caution for us all. But seldom do we learn from other people's mistakes.
Comments