Lanterns set bushes alight at Jay Whiston's memorial (From Essex County Standard)
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Lanterns set Frinton Greensward bushes alight at Jay Whiston's memorial
8:46am Saturday 15th September 2012 in News By Helen Barnett
FIREFIGHTERS were called to Jay Whiston’s memorial in Frinton when Chinese lanterns set the greensward alight.
School friends from Tendring Technology College gathered more than 500 of Jay’s friends and family at Frinton’s Greensward on Friday, September 14, in honour of the 17-year-old who was tragically stabbed last week.
As hundreds of lanterns floated across the sea, a number landed in shrubbed areas between the green and beach huts and set the bushes on fire.
Two engines from Frinton’s fire station were called at around 7.30pm to tackle the flames.
They were quickly extinguished with backpack sprayers and no one was injured.
Firemen stayed on site until 8.30pm when the memorial tribute was over.
Comments(8)
bekmunson
says...
8:04pm Sun 16 Sep 12
nicholasd
says...
9:21am Mon 17 Sep 12
Mentioning the beach huts seems particularly alarmist and as you say yourselves later in the piece the fires were quickly extinguished with backpack sprayers and no one was injured.
The key story was of course the number of people who attended, the moving nature of the tribute and the comfort that this might hopefully bring to Jay Whiston's family.
Very poor journalism and very poor editorial judgement I'm afraid to say.
FTWJackal
says...
5:42pm Mon 17 Sep 12
It highlights the fact that if people wish to carry out this kind of memorial, they should have the courtesy to contact the local Fire Brigade and seek safety advice first.
Would you have still criticised the paper if they had reported someone dying in a house fire due the lanterns.
The Fire Brigade are always under pressure rushing around trying to cope with everything that happens as it is. Regardless of how the fire was put out, it still took two engines away from their station.
Please people, seek advice beforehand next time.
anotbot
says...
10:35pm Mon 17 Sep 12
bekmunson wrote:Ah,
I must say I'm rather disappointed that you have chosen this angle to report the event, rather than the angle that hundreds of friends and family of a young promising well liked boy who was unforgivably taken as a result of knife crime gathered together to pay their respects to this young man. The event was organised by one of his young friends and it gave a great deal of support and even, if possible some happiness to his parents and family. I was at the event and I only witnessed one fire engine and the rather minor incident appeared to be under control before they arrived. The event was neither spontaneous, a disaster or a farce as the above reader has commented, but rather a beautiful event in memorial of Jay Whiston. This took a certain amount of organising and if it was spontaneous there would not have been the hundreds and hundreds of people there as there was, as well as St Johns Ambulance, police and television crews (who incidently out of respect chose to angle their report on grieving family and friends). No one was hurt and no beach huts were damaged.
you did read this story of the events,
but one in which no one commented on perhaps?
http://www.gazette-n
ews.co.uk/news/99315
85.Lanterns_lit_for_
murder_victim_Jay_Wh
iston/
two seperate news stories covering 2 serperate outcomes for the same event.
only one story carried your & friends remarks though?
Out of respect, it seems no one commented on the reason for the gathering, but only the "Incident" that happened during and after the gathering.
bekmunson
says...
8:50am Tue 18 Sep 12
anotbot
says...
9:12am Tue 18 Sep 12
Isn`t It!
are you a firefighter?
do you attend scenes so horrific as to be so bad, no one would like to read of it?
every fire has potential for a disaster.
please do not dismiss as a "small" fire without thinking of your actions or words!
Oh, I`m no firefighter,
just someone who can see others who grieve, but I am someone who does read your comments,
telling others of making the "wrong" comments, while dimissing comments of differing opinions.
Grieving is a natural expression in any animal, both 2 & 4 legged, but do you think you are the only one to grieve, or have grieved?
anotbot
says...
9:27am Tue 18 Sep 12
"Two engines from Frinton’s fire station were called at around 7.30pm to tackle the flames.
They were quickly extinguished with backpack sprayers and no one was injured.
Firemen stayed on site until 8.30pm when the memorial tribute was over.
For over an hour,
thats more than 60 minuets, firemen were at a scence of further potential for fire.
If the attending firecrews were NOT deployed, may be because they were attending a fire elewhere, would that be more acceptable to you?
or would you have the hundreds of lit lanterns be just let loose to go at there will, caring nothing for the possable outcomes.
Just think of a fire, somewhere else, serious, growing with alarming speed, choking someone who cannot excape, for over an hour?
now tell me it was OK for fire engines to spend time on your:-
"There wasn't really a need to report the fire, as I said no one was hurt, no beach huts were damaged and the fire was out within minutes.
there was "no need"
sorry, but your sadly missing something somewhere.
Try asking Clacton fire station officers if an hour spent onsite was because in your opinion,
"there was no need"
I feel sad for you,
I really do!
anotbot says...
9:32am Sun 16 Sep 12
a tragedy of terrible proportions,
the mass sending off of dangerous fire lanterns from the point of elevation was something of a disaster,
which turned the spontaneous event into a farce.
I just hope both our fire service and Frintons flora were compensated.