The primary source I read was about Griggs, a chimney sweeper and small child who escorted him.The fire had been lighted as early as 2 o'clock the same morning, and was burning on the arrival of Griggs and his little boy at eight. Griggs had no sooner extinguished the fire than he suffered the child to go down the chimney; and the outcome, as might be expected, was his almost immediate death, in a state, no doubt, of overwhelming pain. The chimney was of the narrowest description, and must have reserved heat enough to have prevented the child's return to the top, Soon after his fall, the master, who remained on the top, was worried that something had happened, and therefore wanted him to come up; the answer of the boy was, "I cannot come up, master, I must die here." An alarm was given in the brew house immediately that he had stuck in the chimney, and a bricklayer at work near the spot attended, and after knocking down part of the brickwork of the chimney, just above the fireplace, made a hole sufficiently large to draw him through. A doctor attended, but all efforts to bring back life were unsuccessful. On inspecting the body, various burns appeared; the fleshy part of the legs and a great part of the feet more particularly were injured; those parts too by which climbing boys effectually ascend or descend chimneys, viz. the elbows and knees, seemed burnt to the bone, from which it must be evident that the unhappy sufferer made some attempts to return as soon as the horrors of his situation became apparent.
questions: Was this death preventable?
Yes, this death could have been preventable. If he was looked after well by Griggs, then he wouldn't have died. Griggs should have been more careful andhelped the little child go down the chimney when the fire was out. Griggs should have checked to make sure that the fire was completely out, and after doing that, he should have given some safety tips to that young lad before he made his entrance down the chimney. To make sure that everything would be safe, Griggs could have sent some bigger people down the chimney to see if everything was alright, and if the temperature down there was strong enough for that little child to handle. If griggs made an effort to do all this, then that child could have lived.
Please add anything I have missed, thanks
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