Woman dies in fire caused by fireworks pushed through her letterbox

The fireworks may have been put there by bullies trying to get at her 17 year old son, who has learning difficulties.

Quote :

Son Raum was said to have a keen interest in computers. His former classmates said yesterday he had recently swapped schools because the bullying was so bad.

Brett Millington, 17, said Raum had been moved from Bodmin College to St Austell College to escape the bullies. He added: "He was badly bullied. It wasn't all physical but a lot of psychological abuse he suffered.

"When he was at Bodmin, his mum would walk him to school every day because the bullying was so bad. But if anything, that just made it worse."

Anyway...

Quote :

Neighbours said mother-of-five Mary Fox helped her 17-year-old son Raum, who has learning difficulties, to escape from a downstairs window before trying to rescue her cats.

She was trapped by the fire in the third-floor bedroom of her home in Wallace Road, on the Berryfields Estate in Bodmin, North Cornwall, where her body was later found by firefighters.

Nice joke guys. Really fucking funny.

What's going to happen to her son? Does he have any family members to take care of him?

If this was committed by a bunch of bullies to get the son, there are no words to express the disgust I feel towards the people who did that.

Quote :

They would have to be pretty cold and calculating to push a firework through someone's letterbox.

And absolute pieces of shit.

We can has fireworks wank?

It'd be something new.

Sloth wrote:

We can has fireworks wank?

It just happens to be fireworks in this case - it could have been any method of fire starting. Either way, it's appalling.

It could have been a flaming bag of dog poop - but this is terrible regardless. I really hope there is someone to look after the son and they find out who did this.

I hope that maybe people will start taking bullying seriously after this.




...Fuck, who am I kidding.

I feel sorry for everyone involved, but I can't help but feel overwhelmed with incredulity that this woman ran back into a burning building to save her cats. I don't care how much you love your pets. You have a son to look after. You do not gamble with your life for a bunch of cats, no matter how much they meant to you. And now this poor woman is dead and her son has no mother. She could have made it out.

Jesus, this is just so depressing.

Also, this bothered me a whole lot:

Quote :

"With it being Bonfire Night, there was loads of kids on the street last night armed with fireworks. She was not the only one targeted because my next door neighbour had one thrown at her house too. Fireworks should be completely banned from the public because they are extremely dangerous.

...

Care worker Kerry Ollerenshaw said youths regularly roamed the streets of the estate drinking alcohol, committing vandalism and fighting.

I hate people with this type of mentality! It solves nothing. It doesn't MATTER if you ban fireworks and every other manner of thing that could be used to cause trouble. If there's a problem with violent young people, they're going to figure out a way to get around your stupid fireworks regulations to cause trouble. The root of this issue is these little shits running wild, not the existence of fireworks.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Quote :

Police have played down reports from neighbours that Ms Fox's son had mild learning disabilities and may have been harassed by local youths.
The remnants of a firework were found behind the front door of Ms Fox's house.

They said the Fox family had made no complaints about harassment and there was no obvious evidence of intimidation or bullying to either Ms Fox or her son and that such suggestions were "purely speculation" and "unfounded".

Hmm...

Narwhal wrote:

I feel sorry for everyone involved, but I can't help but feel overwhelmed with incredulity that this woman ran back into a burning building to save her cats. I don't care how much you love your pets. You have a son to look after. You do not gamble with your life for a bunch of cats, no matter how much they meant to you. And now this poor woman is dead and her son has no mother. She could have made it out.

I felt it was a bit stupid to go back in for her cats, but they really must have had some significance to her. I can only imagine that having to look after a son with such a disability really made her depend on some form of comfort from the cats.

Also, banning fireworks from public sale might be a good idea, or not allowing them to be bought by minors. I dunno if that'll really help, but it'll remind people of the dangers.

Raine wrote:

Narwhal wrote:

I feel sorry for everyone involved, but I can't help but feel overwhelmed with incredulity that this woman ran back into a burning building to save her cats. I don't care how much you love your pets. You have a son to look after. You do not gamble with your life for a bunch of cats, no matter how much they meant to you. And now this poor woman is dead and her son has no mother. She could have made it out.

I felt it was a bit stupid to go back in for her cats, but they really must have had some significance to her. I can only imagine that having to look after a son with such a disability really made her depend on some form of comfort from the cats.

Also, banning fireworks from public sale might be a good idea, or not allowing them to be bought by minors. I dunno if that'll really help, but it'll remind people of the dangers.

Fire works 'should' only be sold to people over the age of 18 and come in display boxes. This doesn't stop kids taking a couple of crackers for mum and dads display box and doing daft shit with them.

Raine wrote:

Also, banning fireworks from public sale might be a good idea, or not allowing them to be bought by minors. I dunno if that'll really help, but it'll remind people of the dangers.

If an evil little shit wants to cause trouble by throwing something that's going to blow up, they are going to do it regardless of stupid regulations. If they can't find fireworks, they'll use molotov cocktails. The real problem here is morally corrupt teenagers running wild in this neighborhood.

Bamshalam wrote:

I hope that maybe people will start taking bullying seriously after this.




...Fuck, who am I kidding.

What pisses me off is that school authorities put on a big show about being anti-bully but rarely ever actually do anything to prevent it aside from some shitty videos (which, if you went to my elementary school told the person being bullied to basically just shrug it off, which doesn't really work when someone is hard pressed and determined to day after day get a rise out of you) or half-assed conflict resolutions that don't require authority figures to wield any sort of authority at all. We can assume most of the bullying happened during school and that apparently school officials did nothing and these little shits got away with it in school and figured they could fuck with him after school too.

Arrrrrg.

Raine wrote:

Narwhal wrote:

I feel sorry for everyone involved, but I can't help but feel overwhelmed with incredulity that this woman ran back into a burning building to save her cats. I don't care how much you love your pets. You have a son to look after. You do not gamble with your life for a bunch of cats, no matter how much they meant to you. And now this poor woman is dead and her son has no mother. She could have made it out.

I felt it was a bit stupid to go back in for her cats, but they really must have had some significance to her. I can only imagine that having to look after a son with such a disability really made her depend on some form of comfort from the cats.

Also, people in crisis situations don't always think rationally or logically, because they're under so much stress so suddenly. Three years ago, when my dad collapsed due to his brain swelling (long story; at the moment we thought it was a stroke), my mom yelled for me to call 911 because he'd stopped breathing, and I ran around for a few seconds looking for the phone because I'd literally, momentarily, forgotten where it was, I was so upset.

So... people in crises don't always think logically; some do, then, some don't. Also, it's hard to sometimes truly comprehend one's own mortality and the true sense of danger one is in at a given moment. This could have been the way this mom was thinking: she'd gotten out, her children had gotten out... perhaps her cats could be rescued as well. She might not have grasped that rescuing the cats was impossible or beyond her abilities.

Whatever her thoughts were, this is just horrible and tragic.

Mafiosa wrote:

What pisses me off is that school authorities
put on a big show about being anti-bully but rarely ever actually do
anything to prevent it aside from some shitty videos (which, if you
went to my elementary school told the person being bullied to basically
just shrug it off, which doesn't really work when someone is hard
pressed and determined to day after day get a rise out of you) or
half-assed conflict resolutions that don't require authority figures to
wield any sort of authority at all.

Fuck, Darth's old high school actively encouraged the older students to bully and lord it over the younger students. The principal himself encouraged it. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Somath Cegem wrote:

Fire works 'should' only be sold to people over the age of 18 and come in display boxes. This doesn't stop kids taking a couple of crackers for mum and dads display box and doing daft shit with them.

I guess it's a bit of a hard matter to resolve in smaller towns when they're so far-spread. Fireworks are banned from public sale in my state, and only the government and council-supported groups are allowed to purchase them. So far, the only fireworks disaster I've heard of here was back in the 90s when a stray rocket went up into the hills and burnt a woman's hair off.

EDIT: I should mention that Canberra allows the sale of fireworks, however they're discouraged due to causing distress to animals. Yeah...

[quote="Raine
EDIT: I should mention that Canberra allows the sale of fireworks, however they're discouraged due to causing distress to animals. Yeah...[/quote]

Actually, as of August 29 that is no longer true private purchase, import and use of fireworks in Canberra is now prohibited.

theromangeneral wrote:

Actually, as of August 29 that is no longer true private purchase, import and use of fireworks in Canberra is now prohibited.

I had a feeling it might have been, but I couldn't remember properly. Thanks.

Mafiosa wrote:

Bamshalam wrote:

I hope that maybe people will start taking bullying seriously after this.




...Fuck, who am I kidding.

What pisses me off is that school authorities put on a big show about being anti-bully but rarely ever actually do anything to prevent it aside from some shitty videos (which, if you went to my elementary school told the person being bullied to basically just shrug it off, which doesn't really work when someone is hard pressed and determined to day after day get a rise out of you) or half-assed conflict resolutions that don't require authority figures to wield any sort of authority at all. We can assume most of the bullying happened during school and that apparently school officials did nothing and these little shits got away with it in school and figured they could fuck with him after school too.

Arrrrrg.

I used to be teased a lot in my freshman year of high school. One day, a kid said something to me in the halls that made me snap, and I turned around, grabbed his throat, and evidently lifted him off the floor. Witnesses said that anyway. I don't remember, because I was so mad I was seeing red. He passed out and I dropped him.

Never got teased after that. So... I guess in my case violence is the solution.

Maximilia wrote:

Mafiosa wrote:

Bamshalam wrote:

I hope that maybe people will start taking bullying seriously after this.




...Fuck, who am I kidding.

What pisses me off is that school authorities put on a big show about being anti-bully but rarely ever actually do anything to prevent it aside from some shitty videos (which, if you went to my elementary school told the person being bullied to basically just shrug it off, which doesn't really work when someone is hard pressed and determined to day after day get a rise out of you) or half-assed conflict resolutions that don't require authority figures to wield any sort of authority at all. We can assume most of the bullying happened during school and that apparently school officials did nothing and these little shits got away with it in school and figured they could fuck with him after school too.

Arrrrrg.

I used to be teased a lot in my freshman year of high school. One day, a kid said something to me in the halls that made me snap, and I turned around, grabbed his throat, and evidently lifted him off the floor. Witnesses said that anyway. I don't remember, because I was so mad I was seeing red. He passed out and I dropped him.

Never got teased after that. So... I guess in my case violence is the solution.

BUT BUT BUT DON'T YOU KNOW YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO ~*TALK*~ OUT YOUR PROBLEMS

OR JUST IGNORE THEM THAT MAKES THEM GO AWAY RITE

After I kicked a year 6 guy in the nuts when I was in year 2, I was never made fun of for my speech impediment again. :B

Bamshalam wrote:

Maximilia wrote:

Mafiosa wrote:

Bamshalam wrote:

I hope that maybe people will start taking bullying seriously after this.




...Fuck, who am I kidding.

What pisses me off is that school authorities put on a big show about being anti-bully but rarely ever actually do anything to prevent it aside from some shitty videos (which, if you went to my elementary school told the person being bullied to basically just shrug it off, which doesn't really work when someone is hard pressed and determined to day after day get a rise out of you) or half-assed conflict resolutions that don't require authority figures to wield any sort of authority at all. We can assume most of the bullying happened during school and that apparently school officials did nothing and these little shits got away with it in school and figured they could fuck with him after school too.

Arrrrrg.

I used to be teased a lot in my freshman year of high school. One day, a kid said something to me in the halls that made me snap, and I turned around, grabbed his throat, and evidently lifted him off the floor. Witnesses said that anyway. I don't remember, because I was so mad I was seeing red. He passed out and I dropped him.

Never got teased after that. So... I guess in my case violence is the solution.

BUT BUT BUT DON'T YOU KNOW YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO ~*TALK*~ OUT YOUR PROBLEMS

OR JUST IGNORE THEM THAT MAKES THEM GO AWAY RITE

I'M DOIN IT WRONG! AAAAH! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Bamshalam wrote:

OR JUST IGNORE THEM THAT MAKES THEM GO AWAY RITE

Hey it worked for me. Then again a fight literally broke out in the middle of my classroom once and I didn't notice cause I was working, that how good I was at ignoring shit.

Thirding the 'violence is the solution' argument... after getting a lot of mixed messages from the grownups, I finally took matters in my hands and beat the tar out of the leader of my gang of tormentors while her minions stood around, completely paralysed at the realisation that the worm could turn.
When I moved to intermediate school a few boys tried to resume the fun. I picked one at random and delivered the Nutcracker. Problem solved: three perfect years.

Yeah, some of the best advice I got when it came to dealing with bullies is to pick the biggest one and hit 'em as hard as you can.

Unfortunately, that is often the best solution with children. "Talking it out" is pretty much BS when you're a kid. Kids get pain though.

As for these kids out with fireworks, where the fuck are their parents? Isn't it their job to make sure their children aren't being fuckheads and destroying people's property?