ACHO DENE KOE/FORT LIARD - A family in Fort Liard is upset with the official response to a fire that was set at an elder's home.

Flames had just started to creep under elder Sarah McLeod's back door when family members discovered and extinguished the fire on June 16. - photo courtesy of Kathy McLeod

At approximately 1 a.m. on June 16, Shawn McLeod and his mother Barbara McLeod were driving around the community so Shawn could practise for his upcoming drivers' licence test.

The pair were on the main street when they noticed smoke coming from Sarah McLeod's house. Sarah is Shawn's grandmother and Barbara's mother-in-law.

Arriving at the house, the pair discovered the mat outside of Sarah's back door was on fire and the flames had started to catch on the door. Barbara tried to get Sarah's attention so she could unlock the door and leave the house along with her 10-year-old granddaughter, who also lives there, but was unable to because Sarah takes medication to help her sleep, said Shawn.

Barbara ran to the nearby Health Centre to call the fire department while Shawn stayed to fight the fire.

Using a mop pail and water from a nearby puddle, Shawn was able to put the fire out before the firefighters arrived.

"The fire was just starting to go underneath the door," he said.

Shawn said he originally thought the fire was started by someone trying to put a cigarette out on the mat but changed his theory when he started walking around the house.

Shawn discovered diesel fuel and transmission fluid had been splashed around the house and concentrated on the doors and windows.

"I couldn't believe it," he said.

The fluid showed that someone was trying to burn the house down, he said.

Shawn has lived in Fort Liard his whole life and said he's never seen anything like it.

Shawn said the outcome could have been very different if all of the fuel had been lit because his grandmother and cousin wouldn't have been able to escape from the house.

Sarah did eventually wake up and open her door after the fire department arrived.

"She's traumatized," said Kathy McLeod, Sarah's daughter.

"She's very, very upset."

Kathy said the family is upset both by the incident and by the fact that seemingly nothing is being done about it.

Kathy said she's been informed by the Fort Liard RCMP detachment that no charges can be laid in response to the incident because the two suspects involved are minors.

Kathy said she believes the youths are 10 years old.

Under Canadian law, children under 12 cannot be charged with criminal offences.

No penalty for parents

Kathy asked if the parents could be held responsible for the youths' actions and was told they couldn't be.

An officer said RCMP would ask if the parents would be willing to replace the burned door but she hasn't heard a response yet.

Sarah would like the youths to be charged and held responsible, or at the least have the families pay for the damages, said Kathy.

Shawn is in favour of having the youths at least do community service.

"I just wish there was something more being done," he said.

"It seems that they (the RCMP) aren't really caring about people's lives."

Shawn said he's concerned that if the youths don't face consequences, their actions could escalate in the future.

The Fort Liard RCMP detachment did not return calls for comment by press time.

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.