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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday December 26, 2008 - 5 Neighbours shocked by boy's death Continued from page 1 fighting the blaze, which Platoon Chief Bill Forbes said was contained to the second floor of the townhouse. "Our crews made entry and started the search," said Forbes. "The boy was found in his bedroom." Fire personnel evacuated the child through a window, which Forbes said was probably done to get the child fresh air as quickly as possible. Once out of the home, the child was immediately taken to an ambulance where EMS personnel began performing CPR. "It's tough, anytime Despite all these efforts, Bentley was someone dies it's tough, pronounced dead at but especially a child. hospital. A lot of the firefighters The child's have children, so it's mother, a 38-yearhit some of them pretty old Oakville woman, remains in hard." hospital in serious Platton Chief Bill Forbes, condition. Hohn learned of Oakville Fire Department Bentley's death shortly after returning from a night of Christmas shopping only hours after she had seen him last. "She (Bentley's mother) had asked me if I could look after him and I said no because I was going to Wal-Mart, so my son and him started to cry because they wanted to go together," said Hohn. "I got back at around 12:30 a.m. and all of the sudden I see this commotion of fire department and police. I came outside because I couldn't sleep and I said, `What's going on?' The superintendent was here and she told me and we hugged each other and started to cry." For four-year-old Gregory the truth about what happened to his friend has yet to sink in. "He's only four, so he doesn't understand," said Hohn. "He was worried about a toy he'd lent Bentley and earlier he said, `I'm going to be really mad if Bentley doesn't come back." Friends and family of the deceased five-year-old are not the only ones struggling to come to terms with what happened. Counselling is being made available to the Oakville firefighters who fought Tuesday's blaze. "It's tough, anytime someone dies it's tough, but especially a child and especially this time of year," said Forbes. "A lot of the firefighters have children, so it's hit some of them pretty hard." In the wake of this tragedy, Deputy Fire Chief Andy Glynn is calling on families across Oakville to put together a plan on how everyone is going to get out of the house in the event of an emergency. "It is absolutely critical that people understand that they need a home escape plan so that when alarms do activate, especially in the middle of the night, they know how to gather their family and safely escape the home," he said. The home was equipped with functioning smoke detectors. Oakville Fire Prevention Officer Michael Harrison noted in a press release that the outcome of the fire may have been different if this house had been equipped with a residential fire sprinkler system. These systems are designed to trigger automatically suppressing or extinguishing a fire in any room of the house, allowing the occupants to escape. The Ontario Fire Marshal's Office and the Oakville Fire Department are continuing to investigate the cause of the fire. DAVID RITCHIE / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER TRAGIC LOSS: Neighbour Malu Hohn clutches a photograph of Bentley Slaughter as she surveys the aftermath of the fire that killed the five-year-old boy. of-Town Servi & Outce ort p Air OAKVILLE UNITED TAXI Enjoy Holiday Festivities and New Year's Parties Let us get you there & back safely. EXPERIENCED DRIVERS YOU CAN DEPEND ON · · · · · Airport Flat Rates Out-of-Town Service Regular In-Town Service 10% Discount On Parcel Service GPS Computerized Dispatch · · · · · Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles Corporate Accounts Welcome Airport Customer Wake-Up Service 10% Senior Discount - In Town More Than 60 Taxis In Our Fleet 24 hour · 7 days a week 905.338.0044 PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BUSINESS If you are interested in joining our team, please call 905-338-1762