Teen Deserves a Break, Not a Bill for Brush Fire

As a taxpayer, I expect to foot the bill for firefighting, whatever the cause of the fire. And I agree with the Orange County Fire Department’s policy of trying to recover costs from persons responsible for intentionally setting fires.

However, I was dismayed to read (“Boy’s Parents Will Be Asked to Pay for Fire,” Sept. 1) that the parents of the 15-year-old who accidentally started the July 12 Chino Hills fire will be sued for costs associated with that fire.

Based on what I have read about the incident, I believe that the fire was a result of an accident and that the boy displayed an admirable sense of responsibility in the actions he took after the fire started. To quote Capt. Dan Young of the Orange County Fire Department: “He acted pretty darn responsible for a 15-year-old.” Responsible actions should not be punished.

Although he may not have used the best judgment in playing with model rockets near a dry field, I think the boy used good judgment in what he did later.

When my son is 15, I hope he’ll have the sense of an adult. But sometime in the next 14 years, he’ll probably do something dumb. I hope it will be a small, insignificant “dumb,” rather than a $750,000 “dumb.”

I won’t tell him that the Fire Department will bill us if he accidentally starts a fire. I don’t want to teach him that the proper action is to run and hide, rather than do the best he can to do the right thing.

Mother Nature starts fires, and we don’t send her a bill. If the parents of the 15-year-old are required to pay for the cost of the fire, let me know where I can send a contribution to offset their costs.

S. H. MINNER

Placentia