Latest news with #DeanPike
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Mum of Sunderland boy killed when arsonists targeted wrong home relives last 'goodnight'
When Dean Pike's mum said "goodnight" to him by his bedroom door she had no idea that she was really saying goodbye. The 11-year-old was killed when a fierce fire was set at the home he shared with Janine Dodd as the mum and son slept in what should have been the safety of their bedrooms. Janine, who was six-month's pregnant at the time somehow survived the deadly blaze, despite being left critically injured after being blown out of a window. It would later be revealed that the fire that stole innocent Dean's life was started by Terry Majinusz and Neil English who had planned to target a different family as part of a feud that had nothing to do with SAFC-fan Dean or his mum. But tragically the bungling arsonists got the address wrong and poured lighter fluid through the letter box at Dean's home on Mordey Close, in Sunderland, instead of the intended property in a neighbouring street. And when the fuel was ignited, at around 1am, it caused a huge blaze that almost completely destroyed the house. Firefighters found Dean's body on the landing. It has now been 20 years since the night, in June 2005, that changed Janine's life forever. And today in an emotional interview the brave 49-year-old has spoken of her last memories of Dean, the moment she was told he had died, and how she rebuilt her life that could have been completely destroyed. Janine said: "Dean was in his own home at night in his own bed, in the safest place possible in the protection of his mother. In the house with the door locked is the safest place you can be. But he still lost his life because of one stupid incident that changed my life forever. "To me it still feels like he's still here. The last I saw of him was when I said goodnight to him on the landing. It's something I don't think I will ever get my head around. It goes round and round in my head every day." Dean and Janine had only lived in the house a matter of weeks when it was set on fire. Together they had been preparing for the arrival of the new baby with football-loving Dean looking forward to becoming a big brother. On the night of the tragedy the mum and son both went to bed at around 10pm. And Janine can vividly remember saying goodnight to her son on the landing before they both went into their own rooms. It would be the last time she ever saw him. "It was a normal night," she said. "We went to bed at about 10pm. On the landing he said 'goodnight' but little did I know that 'goodnight' may as well have been 'goodbye'. That's the last memory I have of him. We were at home with the door locked in bed planning for the new baby coming. Dean was doing great at school, then just like that life changes." Janine can not remember anything from after she went to sleep that night until she was woken in intensive care more than a week later and told her son had died. "I don't remember anything after that until I was taken off life support support," she explained. "I I had come round, I was slowly getting my bearings then I was told I had been in a fire. I could barely even talk." And when Janine asked where Dean was she was given the earth shattering news. Meanwhile detectives were working to discover who could be responsible for the deadly blaze. And initially thought Janine was the intended target. "The police were desperate to speak to me as soon as they could," Janine explained. "They were asking me who did I have grievances with and who would have done this ,and I said I didn't have any idea. It was as if I was keeping something back." Police then brought in footage of the killers into hospital and played it to Janine. "They were asking me who these people were, but I didn't know," she said. The arsonists were eventually thanks to forensic evidence was discovered. "It was within a matter of weeks that they had forensics," said Janine. "And then the truth came out that it was nothing to do with me." Along with the agony of losing her son Janine was also dealing with the devastating injuries she had suffered to her head and spine. Miraculously her unborn child had not been harmed in the fire or the fall. But the pregnancy meant medics could not perform surgery on Janine's spine meaning she spent the following months unable to move and in pain." "I was in absolute agony I just lay there," she said. "They couldn't do surgery on my spine because I was pregnant so I just had to lie flat. They suggested I might not be able to walk again because of my injuries. I had to learn to walk again. I really don't know how I made it. They prepared my parents for the worst when I was in intensive care." Janine was also faced with the reality that she would be welcoming a new son, just weeks after burying her first born. "It was unbelievable. I think in the back of my mind I didn't want to be here," she said. "There was so much going on in my head." And brave Janine even admits that she worried that she would not bond with her new baby. Although she now believes new son Mackenzie saved her life. "I buried Dean on August 18 and then on September 23 Mackenzie was born," she explained. "Suddenly I had a new home and a new baby. It was like my life had been reset. "It was like starting again. I was worried. I thought that my son who I had for 11 years wasn't here but now I have got this new baby I was worried I would reject him. But as soon as he was born I loved him instantly. "I was really grateful that I had him. Mackenzie knows all about him, but he never got to know him. Dean had already bought little gifts for him. But they were all lost in the fire." Majinusz, then 40, and English, then 43, denied charged of murder, manslaughter, attempted murder and causing grievous bodily harm with intent at court. But the pair were both convicted of murder and causing grievous bodily harm and jailed for life. Janine has spent the past two decades doing everything she can to give Mackenzie a happy life, while keeping Dean's memory alive. "It doesn't feel like 20 years ago. It pops into my mind every day. My brain can never make sense of it because I have got no visual memory of it. It's still hard to process anything," she said. "If it wasn't for Mackenzie I wouldn't still be here. I was torn between not wanting to be here and having to be here for Mackenzie. I'm grateful I'm still here and I'm able to keep Dean's memory alive. "Dean was well known in the area. He was well thought of. I was surprised how many people did know him and still remember him. It's really nice when people ask us a question about him. They will say 'sorry' but I'm always happy to talk about him. "Two things I have done well in life through all mum struggles was to have two lovely boys. People always comment on what a lovely lad Mackenzie is. I have never had any trouble from him. "Dean possibly would have had his own family now. He was just football mad. He loved his football, he was a big Sunderland fan. He was such a laid back happy lad. Everybody says what a lovely lad he was. There's one of his friends that still regularly goes to his grave. It's really nice." And Janine even says she has let go of some of the anger over the years, and instead pities her son's killers. "I just think I have got to where I am today and I pity them now," she said. " I just think I have come out of this as best as I can and am living my life. I am remembering the happy times. Nobody says you have to be sad. I have got to carry on living my life and not be consumed by what happened." Janine now works with students at Sunderland University on medical courses where she help them learn to ask sensitive questions. "It's good to talk about him. He may not be here but he still is in a way," she said. "I love talking about Dean. People assume I don't want to talk about him. He was a lovely boy. Everyone that knew him says how lovely he was and that makes me proud."
CTV News
13-06-2025
- Health
- CTV News
‘It's scary': Residents say their groundwater is contaminated by firefighting foam from St. John's Airport
A group near St. John's Airport is worried about the quality of their drinking water. CTV's Garrett Barry reports. Torbay, N.L. -- A group of homeowners near the St. John's International Airport say runoff from foam used in decades of firefighting training has contaminated their drinking water and left them fearful of long-term health effects. Residents in Torbay, N.L., are attempting to bring a class-action lawsuit against Transport Canada, claiming the federal department didn't do enough to remediate and contain PFAS chemicals from contaminating their drinking wells. PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are often called 'forever chemicals' in reference to their resistance to breakdown and extremely long life. They've been linked to cancers and other serious health risks. A statement of claim, filed last month at the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador, alleges the department knew the PFAS were present in the environment surrounding the airport, but didn't notify nearby residents until Health Canada began to lower exposure guidelines in 2023. Torbay resident Dean Pike would be included in the class-action lawsuit should it be certified at Newfoundland and Labrador's Supreme Court. He and his family, including all pets, are not drinking the well water, relying instead on 5-gallon bottles. He says a Transport Canada representative tested his well water in December and found that the PFAS concentration was below Health Canada's 30 nanogram per litre guidelines. But Pike says he and his family are refusing to drink the water at any PFAS concentration. 'In my opinion, my water is contaminated regardless if it's 0.1 or five hundred [nanograms per litre],' Pike said. 'We should not be consuming PFAS in our system.' Pike says he's been left to wonder whether his diagnosis of prostate cancer was influenced by potentially drinking contaminated water through his well. 'We do not have a family history of it,' he said. 'So, it makes you wonder, was it because I was drinking water here for the last 20 years that was contaminated by what happened at the airport?' Pike said. Forever chemicals news FILE - A water researcher pours a water sample into a smaller glass container for experimentation as part of drinking water and PFAS research at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Center For Environmental Solutions and Emergency Response. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel, File) (Joshua A. Bickel/AP) In a statement to CTV News, Transport Canada said it would respond to the claims included in the class-action lawsuit in a courtroom. The department hasn't yet had to file a statement of defence in the lawsuit. 'Transport Canada takes its responsibilities seriously,' a spokesperson wrote. 'The department will continue to work with local health authorities and support potentially impacted residents and communities.' A statement of claim filed in May alleges that Transport Canada received test results indicating an elevated level of PFAS in the groundwater at the firefighter training site and in nearby surface water in 2011. Those results came in higher than the previous Health Canada objective of 700 nanograms per litre, and significantly higher than the current objective of 30 nanograms per litre. The statement of claim further alleges that Transport Canada 'knew that PFAS is characteristically capable of travelling long distances in groundwater.' Lawyer Alex Templeton said Transport Canada didn't inform homeowners they knew PFAS was in the area when they began a testing project in the nearby subdivisions in 2024. 'They didn't say that 'we've been sitting on monitoring data that shows for the past decade, annually, PFAS has been in the deep water aquifer, supplying this groundwater system,' he said. 'They didn't disclose that to any of these residents.' According to health surveys, nearly every Canadian has some PFAS concentration in their bloodstream. Health Canada wrote in its document laying out it's 30 nanogram per litre objective that exposure to PFAS does not 'necessarily mean that health problems will occur,' and exposure length, intensity and frequency are important considerations. Forever chemicals concerns in Newfoundland Eddie Sheerr has been drinking bottled water at home. Eddie Sheerr, the lead plaintiff for the proposed class-action, has also been living off bottled water. But his bottles are being delivered by Transport Canada, after tests in their water well in 2024 showed PFAS concentrations at about 100 nanograms per litre, well higher than Health Canada objectives. 'It's definitely scary because we've lived in the house since 2017,' he said. 'My kids are in the house. We've been bathing in the water, we drink the water, we cook with the water and so it gets you questioning a whole bunch of things.'
