Lawsuit: Wrongful Death of Washington Foster Child in 2008 Fire

We mentioned in October 2011 that even basic safety checks are not consistently being done in homestudies and that basic checklists are not enough. We frequently mention capacity issues of families with multiple special needs children. This case shows the dangers of both-a serious lack of understanding of what to do in a fire and inadequate setup of a home with this many special needs children with behavioral issues.

By 2008, Mark and Susan Lee had been providing special needs foster care for 10 years. Mark was  a juvenile community corrections officer supervisor with Snoho­mish County Superior Court in Everett. A HeraldNet 2008 article described the children they fostered as those who “often struggle with a range of behavioral health issues. Some have been institutionalized and often participate in special education.”

On November 21, 2008, one of the five special needs foster children of Mark and Susan Lee, a 10-year-old boy, used a lighter to set fire to some sheets that he had made a fort from. The 4,000 square foot home that was in the process of having another 2,000 square feet added to it so they could accommodate more special needs children, burned down and two of the foster children, Kyler Opstrup-Williams, 11, and Tyler Emory, 10 were killed. The other eight people in the house escaped. Initially, the fire was thought to be caused by a faulty outlet until the foster child admitted what he had done. The Lee’s continued to be allowed to take in foster children until March 2011. They are now no longer licensed according to Sherry Hill, a spokeswoman for the Children’s Administration, an arm of DSHS.

According to  Lawsuit filed over boy’s death in Arlington foster home fire [HeraldNet 11/30/11 by Diana Hefley] in a December 2010 investigation that was conducted only after a former foster parent of one of the dead children asked the ombudsman to have another look, police investigators “found that there likely weren’t enough smoke alarms in the home, and that fire drills may not have sufficiently prepared the Lees and the children. The review also concluded that the sleeping arrangements likely weren’t ideal given the number of children with special needs living in the home.” Yet, they also concluded that they”didn’t find fault with the Lees or uncover any licensing violations. Instead, the committee concluded that there were areas that could be improved.” [Because they wouldn’t want to place blame on sainted foster parents, apparently. It might give “foster care” a bad name. This is what happens when society refuses to allow true group homes of any size or kind and puts all their bets and money on the current foster care system. They MUST protect this institution of foster care at all costs (in addition to the fact that the state gets federal money for each child they adopt out. )There will never be enough individuals to provide foster care needed for the special needs children, so most states just allow families to keep adding more and more to their home. It is an ideal without any kind of safety net.]

Lonnie Ostrup, Kyler’s biological mother, is suing the foster parents, Department of Social and Health Services and Compass Health for failing to “adequately monitor and train foster parents Mark and Susan Lee. Her lawsuit also alleges that the Lees failed to maintain a safe home for the foster children living with them.

Everett attorney Deane Minor filed the wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of Lonnie Opstrup earlier this month in Snohomish County Superior Court.”

What happened to the boy that set the fire?

According to the March 2011 HeraldNet article, the boy that set the fire “was charged with a felony in juvenile court in connection with the deaths. A judge in January [2011] granted him a deferred prosecution and ordered him to continue counseling and do community service. He has since been reunited with his father and has moved out of state.”

The first review

“The state Department of Social and Health Services conducted a fatality review in April 2009. A review is conducted when a child dies unexpectedly while under state care or while receiving state services,” according to the March 2011 HeraldNet article.

The second review

“The earlier review’s only conclusion was that there was inadequate communication and coordination among the different agencies involved with the boys. That potentially affected getting timely services to those affected by the fire.

State officials, however, later decided that they wanted a second look at the circumstances of the Lees’ home at the time of the blaze.

Former foster parents who had cared for one of the victims questioned the first fatality review findings and urged the state ombudsman for family and children to press for answers.

The second review was done in December by a committee that included state child advocates, an Edmonds police detective and a Monroe Fire captain. ”

“The Lees’ bedroom was equipped with an audio monitor and located in the basement. The foster children’s bedrooms were located on the second and third floors of the home. “

The night of the fire

According to today’s article, “The Lees’ adult daughter, who was home from college, heard a smoke detector and began waking up the children.

Mark Lee heard the smoke detector from his room in the basement. He went upstairs to find his daughter helping the children escape. He went into Kyler’s bedroom.

Mark Lee shook the sleeping boy to wake him. He told investigators he heard Kyler make a noise and thought he was awake and following him out of the room. Once downstairs he realized Kyler wasn’t following him. He tried to return upstairs but smoke and flames kept him back.

He was forced outside and then realized that Tyler also was missing. The house was engulfed in flames and Lee couldn’t get close enough to reach Tyler’s room.

The boys’ rooms were in the northwest corner of the house. Both died of asphyxiation.”

Recommendations by review committee

“The committee also determined that it was the collective responsibility of all the professionals who regularly visited the family home to be alert for potential safety issues.

The review concluded that at the time of the fire, the home likely was becoming a place that would require more supervision and safety inspections because the majority of the children had special needs.”

“The committee made five recommendations:

• Advanced fire safety training for foster parents, group homes and other caregivers

• Advise foster parents that their bedrooms should be accessible and within earshot of the children’s bedrooms

• Convene a work group to talk about issues at foster homes serving children with special needs and clearly define the different types of licensed homes

• Improve communications following a critical incident.”

These people did not have BASIC fire safety training. These are some of the weakest recommendations ever.

‘We are devastated’ by loss of two boys, family says
[Herald Net 11/25/08 by Jackson Holtz]

Fatal fire at Arlington foster home forces changes to state policy
[Herald Net 3/18/11 by Diana Hefley]

REFORM Puzzle Piece