The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

A YEAR after 12-year-old Montana Ferguson died in a Crown Haven house fire, his family says the start of another school year has sharpened the pain of losing a child who never got the chance to return to the classroom.

Montana, a seventh-grade student at Sherlin C Bootle Secondary School, died on August 25, 2025, when a fire engulfed the home of a friend where he was staying overnight.

His aunt, Jacqueline Duncombe, said watching other families prepare their children for school has been particularly difficult for relatives still grieving his death.

“It’s been rough, especially for the whole family,” Ms Duncombe said. “We’ve been mourning for a couple of days.”

She said her son had shared a close bond with Montana and would have been excited to return to school with him.

Ms Duncombe said the family still has not found peace and continues to struggle with the circumstances surrounding his death.

“Ain’t nothing change,” she said.

“It's still the same. We still have the same feeling and the same emotion.”

Montana was trapped inside the single-storey wooden house as neighbours desperately tried to save him, breaking windows and throwing buckets of water while his cries for help could be heard.

Homeowner Oceanna Scott and her three children escaped the blaze but lost everything.

Firefighters arrived from Cooper’s Town nearly an hour later, travelling an estimated 40 to 50 minutes to reach the scene. By then, the house had been destroyed.

The tragedy renewed longstanding calls for a fire truck and hydrants in Little Abaco communities.

North Abaco reportedly received a new fire truck in January, but Montana’s family said they wished his death had not been the event that preceded its arrival.

Police said on September 11 last year that the fire appeared to have been electrical in origin and that investigators had found no signs of foul play.

Assistant Superintendent Stephen Rolle said at the time that the investigation file would be forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions for review and consideration of possible negligence charges once the police probe was complete.

The matter is also expected to go before the Coroner’s Court.