The headlines are haunting. An 18-year-old student with a bright future is now dead. Eric Leighton from Mother Teresa Catholic High School was in the twelfth grade and scheduled to attend prom last night (Thursday night). Yet now he is fated to be remembered by a devastating tragedy and through a lonesome memorial.
Based on the latest information uncovered by journalists, Eric was in the auto shop building barbecues when a 55-gallon oil drum containing an unconfirmed substance ignited and blew up. This hazardous material probably did not belong in an auto shop and is likely the result of neglect. Five people, including the male teacher, suffered from minor injuries while Eric was not breathing and had no pulse when the paramedics arrived. Although Eric was resuscitated, he later succumbed to his injuries and died. Those who suffered minor injuries are still being examined medically but so far seem healthy.
The tragedy raises some important yet troubling questions about the Canadian education system even though the accident occurred in the suburb of Barrhaven in the southwest end of Ottawa. Investigations are being conducted to pinpoint the cause of the accident and find those who are responsible. Although it would be too far to conclude public high schools are generally unsafe, it is necessary to reevaluate the safety of our schools.
There is a touching photo on the web of Eric’s prom date paying her respects just days before the actual prom. It is important that Eric’s death be a wakeup call for us to consider our own safety measures.
This actually happened just down the street from where I live. To give a few more details, the project the students were undertaking involved cutting into empty steel drums to build BBQs and was carried out in previous years as well. This steel drum previously contained peppermint oil, and was expected to be completely empty. It seems that there was some residual oil left in the barrel, and when the students started cutting into the drum using their torches, the heat ignited the oil fumes. There haven't been any details released on where the steel drums originated from, but the barrel was expected to be empty. I think the comment about this raising "serious questions about the Canadian education system" is completely unfounded. There is a reason this is making the news – because accidents like this NEVER happen here. It was a completely freak occurance, and I would expect that whoever provided the barrels is at fault here.
I understand your point Catherine. It is too soon to conclude that the school board is to blame, but at the same time, the facts certainly suggest otherwise.
However the basic fact is that these dangerously flammable barrels were in the shop. They were not properly checked for oil residues. There was inadequate protective gear for the student and even the teacher to prevent traumatic injuries. From my understanding, these procedures are rudimentary safety standards to be followed when using a torch. especially in an auto shop.
I agree that it was certainly a rare accident and that helped to draw much attention. However, I would not consider it an act of god like a lightning strike. There were certainly grave errors made by both the barrel supplier and school board to produce this tragedy. The exact nature and extent of these mistakes are still being investigated but the school board most certainly shares a portion of the blame.
So I would have to disagree fundamentally. We can not dismiss this accident as a freak occurrence. Those who are responsible must be held accountable including perhaps the shop teacher and we must learn from the mistakes made here.