A one year old boy from the village of Laulii in Samoa has been pronounced dead by Police after fire broke out in the infant’s house Tuesday afternoon.
Police Spokesperson Su’a Le Mamea Tiumalu says the loss of the infants life was an untimely event, and one that could have been avoided. However, he says no foul play was involved in the incident.
“Early Tuesday morning the infant was asleep when his 11 year old brother lit a mosquito coil. Unfortunately, he also left the box of matches in the same bowl the mosquito coil was in and somehow the matches caught fire and spread across the house,” he said.
The one year old was alone in the house when the fire started.
The boy’s grandfather who was the guardian at the time was in the plantation that morning and his 11 year old brother was in neighbor watching television.
“We cannot speculate on how the fire spread so fast, but investigations are still continuing. However, we understand that the fire was an unintended incident,” he said.
If investigations lead to hard evidence of any parent negligence, they could be charged added Tiimalu.
He recalls the Family Safety act of 2013 does include certain laws regarding children safety and the responsibility of parents.
Police investigation continues to look into the matter.
Photo: BOS-Fahrzeuge.info