Grief counsellors were on site at the Tamarac Education Centre in Port Hawkesbury, N.S. Tuesday as the community comes to grips with the death of nine-year-old Oaklee Bagley.
“It’s to understand you are not alone, and that other people are grieving,” said principal Chuck Boudreau. “It’s not only our school that’s grieving, it’s the whole community. We are trying our best to support the students, but also reaching out to the family and seeing what kind of support we can provide there as well.”
Oaklee and his mother Amanda Bagley suffered severe burns in a house fire Friday night. Both were taken to hospital in Halifax on the weekend, but Oaklee died of his injuries Monday morning.
Amanda remains in critical condition in a Halifax hospital.
Family friend Brian McCarthy said Oaklee was a huge hockey fan and he especially loved the New Jersey Devils. McCarthy reached out to the Devils organization to let them know about the loss of their young fan.
“I had asked them for any thoughts, prayers or support they could send in the way of the family, being that they were ultimate fans of the New Jersey Devils,” he said.
Community support for the family continues to grow. A makeshift memorial of notes, teddy bears and flowers sits outside the Bagley’s boarded-up home. An online fundraising campaign, set up to replace items lost in the fire and to help with medical costs, has raised just over $6,000 in two days.
McCarthy says Amanda has a long road ahead of her and she will need the support of the tight-knit community as she recovers from her injuries and copes with the loss of her child.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kyle Moore
