Child, 5, is burned in Yorkshire
A small child sustained burns over 40 percent of his body in the Yorkshire area Friday night.
It happened in the 8000 block of Oak Street about 9 p.m. The child, believed to be 5 years old, was apparently injured while playing with a candle. Fire investigators were on the scene late Friday, piecing together exactly what happened.
When rescue crews arrived, the child was on the ground outside the house, a neighbor said. A helicopter was called and the child was flown to a trauma center in Washington.
The mother, who had tried to put out the flames with her hands, was treated at the scene for burns.
Fire officials said the child had serious and extensive burns.
Jason Cleveland, who lives across the street, said the child was "rambunctious" and was often seen riding a mini-four wheeler around the front yard.
Another neighbor, who had tried to console the child's mother, said the woman had lost her husband to cancer in September.
"I was just very concerned for the family. They don't need this kind of trouble right now," Robbie Joonsteen said.
Police officers were inside the house late Friday taking pictures and a fire marshal was at the scene interviewing witnesses.
The child's condition was unknown late Friday.
Burns are the fifth-leading cause of death among children 14 and younger in the United States, according to the National Safe Kids Coalition. Each year, approximately 116,600 children are treated for burns in emergency rooms.
The coalition said children can suffer third-degree burns after three seconds of exposure to flames or boiling hot water. Young children cannot recognize heat-related hazards quickly enough to react and pull away, the coalition said.
Advertisement
Reader Reactions
Sir or Madam “ Who “ :
Your angry protests would suggest to me that something other than this news has allowed serious anger to take a foothold in your life. Do you know the mother and young child about whom the article is written? If not, is it possible your anger is misdirected?
Children are fascinated by fire. Parents do well to teach them that fire is something very dangerous for children to use. Perhaps the mother of this child DID teach her child this truth. Sadly, children don’t always listen or don’t always understand.
A good parent would likely be concerned at this point with the life of her child. A child needs intense love at a time like this. When the crisis is past, there will be plenty of time for the mother to talk to her child about many, many aspects of the incident. At no point, however, could I as a parent berate this child or punish her severely for this. Enough suffering will have been experienced. I would love my child with all my heart and make sure—with love—that she understands she must never put herself in danger like this again.
Why, “ Who, “ are you so angry? Please take some time to look closely at yourself and see if you need to find an end to your own anger. Anger can be an awfully heavy load to carry around, and the person it usually hurts most is the person who has it.
Please be well.
the mother should have whipped his behind yeah whatever i am from the old school where if i did something wrong my neighbors could discipline me and i still got it when i got home from my parents so dont give me that bull about child abuse read your bibles and learn also a 5yrold or whatever age that child is had not darn business playing with candles period sorry the woman lost her husband but she isnt the only person who has lost a loved one now she needs to realize life goes on and discipline that kid also i seriously doubt that child has learned from this horrendous experience as soon as he gets well he will try something else keep your eyes on the news and you will see
Advertisement