How Do We Respond When Two Toddlers Die in a Fire?

Grieving. What else can I do? Two young children, ages 2 and 1, siblings, died in a house fire. A two year old boy and his 18 month old sister, who will never learn to read, never ride a bike, never play a musical instrument, never go fishing, never play hockey. These two children, through no fault of their own, died in a fire. Two more victims claimed by death, in a world in which death reigns because of human sin and rebellion.

But there is far more to this story than just the death of two young innocents. Since the fire, complaints and allegations have been flung in many directions. Blame is laid at the feet of the fire chief, the band leaders, the government, etc. From what I have observed, it appears that blame rightly does fall in various places. And so to my mind, what is striking about the blaming that I have noticed, is that each person seemingly seeks to absolve themself entirely while shifting the burden wholly onto someone else.

All too quickly in such a situation, people latch onto the particular elements of the story that fit their own preferred narrative. Then they run with this idea and promote it. So, instead of focusing on the devastated family that has lost two young children, we hear that the town failed to help, probably due to racism; that the reserve mishandled money and failed to pay their bills; that the government needs to provide more money for fire protection; that the government has provided sufficient money, so it must be a case of misappropriation; that the lack of building codes and the shoddy construction work on reserves are the culprits here; etc., etc.

As you read that list of accusations, did you nod your head at some? Did you scoff at others? We must take great care not to allow our preconceptions and preferences skew our understanding of the situation. And far more important, we must not let our desires, whether to find facts or to assign blame, outweigh or supplant our care and concern for those grieving, for those shattered by this tragedy.

As Christians, let us show our love and our concern. My wife is organizing a care package for the family. Contact her or me if you are interested in helping. 

UPDATE: My wife created a Facebook page to support the Cheenanow family. It can be found at https://www.facebook.com/groups/655063211272221/.

UPDATE: If you want more information/background, news stories about this can be found at:
Global News
CBC