Quebec provincial police say they are investigating the death of a 75-year-old woman who R”L died after being struck in the head by a fire hose.
Anita Maskin, a Boisbriand resident, died June 10 while watching a house fire in the Montreal suburb – as was reported HERE on YWN.
Maskin’s family is demanding answers about the freak accident, but police say it will be weeks before they can shed light on the incident.
Her husband Robert, 78, said they were having lunch with their rabbi in his home in Boisbriand when they wandered outside to watch firefighters working on a nearby house fire.
Anita Maskin went to stand with the crowd when a fire hose disconnected from a nearby hydrant and whipped her in the skull.
She was taken to hospital by ambulance and later pronounced dead.
Maskin’s family said the fire and local police department have yet to contact them to explain what happened.
Her son Arvin — a lawyer in Manhattan — said the silence has made grieving difficult. “The result has been devastating to my father,” he said on the weekend. “My parents are inseparable, the whole family is devastated.”
Maskin said he’s ready to launch his own investigation into the death if police aren’t more forthcoming.
“We’re going to have to understand [what happened], and we will commit whatever resources necessary to get to the bottom of this,” he said.
(Source: CBC News)
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10 Responses
There is a discrepancy b/t the two reports of what happened. Was she mistakenly standing on the hose, or did the fireman negligentely hit her?
sammy that was a very sympathetic and sensible post
The first report was incorrect. Those hoses are huge and no one in their right mind would stand on it.
It wasnt such a bad fire and the people were not standing close to it. The firemen were going about doing their jobs from down the street where the pumps were, but did not warn people to keep back from the hoses or the pumps only from the actual fire.
Hashem Yishmore V Yatzil
The fire truck was pulling the hose. Then the hose got caught on something, and when the truck kept going it caused the hose to break and it flung and hit her in the head. A freak accident indeed.
Obviously this is a very sad story and the woman’s family should know of no more tzaar and HKB”H should be menachem them b’soch sh’or avelei tzion. However, we must learn from this. When there is a scene where firefighters, EMS, police are working, you must stand at least a block away. Standing any closer is at your own risk. Please warn your children and families. As a member of Hatzolah, I have scene people crowding around at extrication of a victim out of a wrecked car, and they are either in the way of rescue personnel or way too close for safety. Get a video on fire rescue if you are so curious. Do not put yourself in harm’s way. V’nishmartem MEOD L’nafshoseichem!
Sammygol,
Your comments are highly insensitive. We don’t know the circumstances. Plus, are you to tell us that you never looked to the side of a road to view something that happened? You have never been curious enough about something you never saw before to make you want to watch? I find it hard to believe that if there was a fire, Heaven forbid, across the street from where you were, that you would just go about your business and not take a look. So PARDON ME, but I think you should think before you react.
Some people feel the need to post abi to post.
This was a very tragic story and to comment on it without having been there especially in a sarcastic tone is mean spirited and outright lack of the yidishe midah of rachmanim that is attributed to a yid.
May the family have a nechamah and may the insensitive become soft and caring.
#7, #3, there is hope…
any blow to the head- even from tripping over a carpet can result in death b/c at that age (70) the veins under the skull are very fragile and any strain can cause an acute subdural hematoma (an internal bleed in the head- I would be more specific, but I’m using laymen’s terms here). My heart goes out to the family, but sadly, this is the most common injury in elderly ppl and can happen from falling off a step, tripping over something or many benign circumstances that would not affect a younger person this way (elderly have cerebral atrophy- brain in the head shrinks and the veins streach and can break easily) the question was not so much with the firefighters, more so with the medics and the hospital- why did she die that quick? My guess is she was on plavix, aspirin, or coumadin or some blood thinner, if not- was she treated appropriately for ICP? Was standard of care followed? If so, there’s not much of a case here… But tragic nonetheless… May hashem comfort the family among the mourners of tzion and yerushalayim.
This story was a topic on a local radio station this morning in Toronto. They too acknowledged this as a tragic accident but were critical for the lady for going out to watch the fire.
sammy – some readers claim you’re insensitive, but really you are too sensitive. By reacting to every comment against your posts, you prove that there might be something in their words. So better off ignoring.