By DENISE MAYCOCK 

and LYNAIRE MINNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporters

THE grieving mother of 13-year-old Montana Ferguson was left shattered yesterday when police denied her pleas to view her son’s body as it lay in the ruins of a house fire that claimed his life.

Erica Ferguson begged officers to let her see the remains of her twin son, but they refused while investigators were still in the early stages of their probe.

Montana had been staying overnight at a friend’s home in Crown Haven, Abaco, when the blaze started shortly after 3am He became trapped inside the single-storey wooden house and died despite frantic rescue efforts by neighbours, who broke windows and threw buckets of water as flames tore through the structure. Firefighters from Cooper’s Town arrived nearly an hour later, by which time the home was destroyed.

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis yesterday expressed condolences to Montana’s family and acknowledged the need to strengthen fire response across the Family Islands.

“Well, I think the cries are justified, and we are looking into shoring up our firefighting apparatus throughout the archipelago, particularly after so many devastating wildfires,” Mr Davis told reports in New Providence. “I want to express my heartfelt condolences to the family of that young child and let them know that we are keeping them in our thoughts and prayers.”

The teen’s death comes just a week before the start of the new school year. He was a student at S.C. Bootle School in Cooper’s Town and would have entered the eighth grade on September 1.

He is survived by two sisters — his twin, Simone, and 15-year-old Sky. His father, Elkin Ferguson, who was away in Eleuthera at the time of the fire, has since returned to Abaco.

Chief Councillor Deangelo Edgecombe, who drove Montana and his siblings to school daily, described him as a humble and respectful boy.

“He was one of the kids on my bus. I drove him when he was in the seventh grade, basically for the entire school year. I drive these kids five days a week, so you create a bond with them,” he said. “Montana was a handsome, humble young man. I had no problems with him at all.”

Mr Edgecombe said he went to the scene and found the boy’s distraught mother.

“She wasn’t taking it too well,” he recalled. “At the time, the police still had his body there. She wanted to see him, but the officers thought it wasn’t the best thing to do. She was distraught.”

The tragedy has rattled the small settlement and reignited urgent calls for firefighting resources in Little Abaco, where no trucks or hydrants are available and residents are left to battle blazes themselves

The fire also left homeowner Ocianna Scott and her three children homeless, as they escaped but lost all of their belongings.

Montana’s death follows other high-profile blazes this year that exposed major gaps in firefighting capacity. Similar concerns were raised after the Bay Street fire in April, when residents of Victoria Court complained that additional trucks could have contained the blaze sooner.

The government has said it is acquiring 15 to 20 new fire trucks, including units for the Family Islands, but delivery could take nine months as they must be custom-built. Former National Security Minister Marvin Dames has argued the fire service should be separated from the police force, calling the current model outdated and inadequate.