City regrets disposal of dead dog
Monday, June 23, 2008
Steamboat Springs — Steamboat Springs City Councilwoman Cari Hermacinski has drafted a condolence letter to the family of David Engle, including an apology from council for anything the city may have done to exacerbate the family's grief in the wake of Engle's smoke-inhalation death June 15 in an Old Town apartment.
Hermacinski felt comments made by a city planner June 16 and printed in Tuesday's Steamboat Today may have been insensitive, and Steamboat Springs Police Capt. Joel Rae confirmed Friday that Engle's dog, Luna, which also died in the fire, was taken from the scene in a body bag and placed in a Dumpster at the Steamboat Springs Animal Shelter.
The disposal upset some of Engle's friends and family.
"We didn't think it was appropriate," said Mariane Engle, David's mother. "But I wasn't terribly upset. It's real minor compared to everything else."
Mariane Engle said Luna has since been retrieved and cremated.
Rae said the Dumpster at the animal shelter commonly is used for the disposal of pets whose owners are not cremating or burying their animal, and also is used by the Colorado Division of Wildlife for the disposal of animals.
"Dumpsters are a procedure for disposing of animals, unfortunately," City Clerk Julie Jordan said. "We just don't have places to hold dogs in facilities."
Nonetheless, Rae said Luna's disposal was not handled properly and that the sensitive and emotional nature of the situation called for better communication between police and Engle's family and friends.
"It seems like there was miscommunication that took place," Rae said. "Having communication with the family is important in these cases. Obviously, this is a situation where it's very emotional."
Other City Council members are reviewing Hermacinski's draft letter.
-To reach Brandon Gee, call 871-4210 or e-mail bgee@steamboatpilot.com
Comments
id04sp 4 years, 11 months ago
Negligent homicide?
There should not have been a kitchen, much less a stove, in that converted garage. There was not a landlord-supplied smoke detector as far as we know.
That said, the occupant assumed the risk on a long-term basis and had plenty of time to address the smoke detector issue on his own. It's not exactly like he suffocated the first time he tried to cook in that apartment. If things were a bit different, meaning that if the apartment was a legal residence and the tenant set the place on fire by falling asleep after deliberately putting a pot of oil on the stove to heat up to make french fries, the tenant would be liable to the landlord for damages resulting from the fire.
There's a tendency in this town for people to believe that everybody else has a duty to protect them from harm, down to the point of people riding a bike in the dark on US 40 with no lights, and no reflectors, and believing that if an 18 wheeler hits them, it's the driver's fault. Technically, that might be true at some level, but you're still dead if you get hit by an 18 wheeler. Who wins that argument?
I guess we'll never know if the dog barked or tried to wake the victim after the fire started. I do know that my own dog woke me the morning after the Hinman drainage forest fire started. That one didn't set off my smoke detector, but I could smell it when I woke up, and there was no doubt that the dog was acting differently than he ever had before.
I'm pretty sure that somebody's insurance company will pay up, or else the owners will lose the place to a judgment lien, because in this case you cannot deny that the landlords should have been aware of the problems and taken steps to cure them before renting the place out. At the same time, this young man assumed part of the risk and was probably well aware of the conditions that led to his death.
The lesson that people should take away from this tragedy is that they are responsible for their own safety, period. Most people who survive such incidents do so because of their own actions and precautions taken before the incident.
By the way, there have been studies done which show that kids will ignore a smoke alarm. The parents have to wake them up and get them out of the house. Kids will ignore the sound until something else gets their attention; otherwise they think it's just something that Mom and Dad will deal with.
My advice to anyone living in an "add on" residence like this is to go buy a smoke detector AND check to make sure you have an "egress" window in the bedroom. That's a window you can open and get out of to escape a fire. I know that most people in this kind of situation won't turn in the landlord, because that would mean putting themselves out of a home. So be smart, and protect yourself, and ASSUME THE RISK. Blaming somebody else after you're dead is not really an option.
thecondoguy1 4 years, 11 months ago
What are they going to do when the procecutor, wants evidence that Luna may have been able to provide? There could very well be a neglent homicide action coming down here, and the whole scene has been disturbed, and bungled. I am appalled at the entire manner in which this mans death, and the death of his beloved dog has been delt with, we need to be ashamed, embarressed as we can all muster, my head is down, this is not a proud moment.....................
Chad James 4 years, 11 months ago
Cari, Joel and others...thanks for handling this situation in a timely and delicate fashion. Your response was both appropriate and sensitive.
thecondoguy1 4 years, 11 months ago
My advice to anyone OWNING an "add on" residence is to have the fire marshall inspect it immediately, comply with any and all requirements, call your attorney to review the local, state, and federal laws regarding tenant landlord law, liability, and resposibility, a good reading of your insurance policy for personal liability and casualty loss, as it may pertain to a illegal edifice with no building permit or certificate of occupancy issued by a legal entity, including incomplete or improper safety devices, and last but not least, a visit to your priest or rabbi to get a reading on your duty and moral obligation to your fellow man. So be smart and protect yourself, I would say waiting untill sombody is dead is really not an option. Remember legal entitys such as LLc's or incorporation do not exculpate a principal or officer from criminal liability.
wanna_say 4 years, 11 months ago
Condo Guy, It seems that you continue to be missing or deflecting a valuable point....
Each individual Is Responsible for HIS or HER personal safety first and foremost.
Blaming other people or organizations will not bring you back from the dead.
But Watching out for yourself may keep you alive a little longer.
It is extremely unfortunate that a life has lost due to seemingly preventable incidents.
Lesson learned: Check YOUR OWN smoke detector and live with a keen awareness of your surroundings
Ted_Bell 4 years, 11 months ago
Another lesson (that might be totally unrelated to the Engle story) but I just through I would mention while we are on the topic of safety and preservation of life.
If you have a friend or a family member who has substance abuse/ substance dependence issues, if you love them you better confront them on those issues. Intervene and get them into treatment.
Why is it that there have been so many deaths in this community that are drug and alcohol related. Inevitably hoards of "friends" will come out of the woodwork to mourn the death of their beloved friend and sometimes even release balloons into the air. Where were these "friends" when the deceased was so often intoxicated? People who have substance abuse and dependence issues tend to associate with others who have the same problem.
Never mind, it is ALWAYS someone else's fault. The alcoholics/ users in this town should give their family members a list of their dealers and establishments where they drink and purchase liquor so that the family members know who to sue when their beloved overdoses or drinks herself into a coma.
Suggestion- That superintendent who was bought out of her contract ought to be forced to perform some services for that buy out money. There is a huge need for adult babysitters in this community.
thecondoguy1 4 years, 11 months ago
wanna and ted, nothing is missed on my part regarding your sermons of personal responsibility, I am a card carrying believer and advocate of personal responsibilty first and foremost. My problem here is with the weak and vulnerable of our society, we are not obligated to baby sit anybody. This man had no chance, we sold him a defective product, and accepted his money each month in payment without regard to his safety and also jeopardized the lives of the other family in the main unit. Under the consumer protection act you can not even sell a toy that does not work and can cause public harm. Also people look up vicarious liability, if in fact David was intoxicated, whom ever served him his last drink could be vicariously liable for his death, either criminal, civil, most likley both. Again, if I were involved in this property or incident in any shape or form I would be sitting with my attorney planning a defence for first a criminal negligence law suit then preparation for the civil law suit. David had a responsibilty to himself, but make no mistake about it you and I killed him, through our government, (us), not enforcing regulations and mandates regarding property standards, we are guilty at least of mind we allowed him to die via our collective carelessness and negligence. We won't get popped, but you can bet anybody or entity that can be associated with this horrible event will. Further, refer to my most recent post prior this one.
thecondoguy1 4 years, 11 months ago
maybe, tuffy, maybe,,,,,,, please, just make sure you have smoke detectors in your house and that you can get your family and pets out if you should have a fire.......................
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