A Kerosene Heater

The news literally took up the entire front page. The headline I just want my kids back screamed at us. The small 3 BR house was home to eleven people including an infant and two small children, ages 2 and 4. Their grandmother had recently taken in the unwed mother and her two little ones. Here's the sad, tragic story.

A fire, started by a kerosene heater which lacked a “filler cap” and placed too close to combustibles, took the lives of two small children. The tots were huddled under a bed during the fire but discovered too late.

Naturally, in a disaster like this, someone gets blamed. In this case it was the utility company which had shut off their heat. Usually, a warning is given, and often hardships are seriously reviewed by utility companies.

What hit me beyond the tragedy was a reminder of the days when I lived from paycheck to paycheck, knowing that certain obligations had to be met. Or else! Back to the fire.

With so many adults living in the home, one wonders why not enough was forthcoming to at least pay the crucial utility bill, especially in a cold climate. With eight adults and teenagers living in the house plus two non-resident dead beat dads (who only occasionally visited their offspring), why was the gas bill unpaid? Why was the heater “filler cap” not in place? Why? Why? Why?

All of these adults and the two dead beat but now “fatherless” fathers must understand why the headline screamed at all of us, not just them: I just want my kids back. So do we. Unthinkable now to them, there doubtless will be some anguished senior moments emerging in the years to come. Not all memories fade away.