So, if he weighs more than a drape…
Such a fire was probably inevitable. If not now, then it would certainly have started sometime over the next few years. All that nice dry fuel on the ground was just waiting for right circumstances…
So, the kid should get the same slap on the wrist that he would get for starting a much smaller fire.
Wallpaper!
Send Smokey The Bear to maul his ass.
More importantly, what’s a hectare?
“Only YOU can prevent…wait what? You burned HOW much!!!”
Y’know, he’s that guy that Brad Pitt naffed off in Troy
simulpost
Missy, it’s 100 meters square, or 10,000 square meters. It comes out to around 2 and 1/2 acres, 2.47 to be exact.
What the…
He can’t be held financially accountable and you can’t punish his parents because they can’t watch their child every minute, so my solution would be to have him write a letter of apology to every single person/family that lost their home in the fire. He should also have to write a letter of apology to the red cross, the fire department, and anyone else who helped undo the damage he caused. If he is older he should also be required to do community service to make up for this.
Jeeeez. Sorry for the simul=thread. Thanks for locking it, Oh Mystery Mod.
It was an accident… nothing more.
If he’s old enough, I might have him visit the burn ward of his local hospital. My first thought was to have him do a PSA (you know, like when celebs get caught drunk driving and have to do an unrelated The More You Know…), but having his face everywhere might invite harassment.
I really think it hinges on the “kid’s” age. As has already been said, a 4 year old firestarter and a 16 year old firestarter bring completely different levels of awareness and responsibility to the table.
lieu, how many square metres? and how many acres exactly?
Exactly. It strikes me as odd that none of the news reports say how old the kid is. I can see why they don’t release his name or where he lives, but his age is hardly identifying information.
Matches don’t kill forests & destroy rural housing, children do
Get it right. They’re draperies.
I think we pressed a few, too.
The Griffith Park fire this past March was accidentally set by a couple of teenagers who were “playing with matches” (in this case, a lighter and twigs). Throughout the reporting, they were referred to as ‘teens’ or ‘teenagers’. This time, they’re using the terminology, ‘young boy’ to describe him, which, to me, implies something younger than 12. It’s just a WAG, but I suspect he’s somewhere between 6 and 10.
If that’s the case, I imagine he may need quite a bit of counseling to deal with what he’s done. The repercussions of any punishment could also be potentially life-altering. If I were in charge, I’d recommend a trained psychiatrist or psychologist assist in determining what level of punishment would be best for this young boy. For instance, things like forcing him to visit a burn ward, while possibly appropriate for an older child, could seriously traumatize a younger one.