Friends and family of teen who died in Orlans fire shocked by her death - Action News
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Ottawa

Friends and family of teen who died in Orlans fire shocked by her death

Friends and family of the teen who died in a house fire in Orlans say they are shocked and saddened by her death.

16-year-old Courtney Scott was found dead inside her foster home Friday

Courtney Scott, 16, died in a fire at her foster home in Orlans April 21. (Facebook)

Friends and family of the teen whodiedin a house fire inOrlanssay they are shocked and saddened by her death.

Courtney Scott's body was discovered in her foster home Friday afternoon after Ottawa fire crews were called tothe 1100 block of Old Montreal Road. Firefighters say all the residents except the 16-year-old escaped the incident unharmed.

"I didn't want to believe it," said Courtney's mother Sheila Scott. "She was really a wonderful girl. She had a lot of joy. Especially when [she was]around family. Her real family."

Originally from Fort Albany First Nation, Scott said she was at her home last Saturday nearTimmins,Ont.,when she was told her daughter had died. The mother of six had lost custody of her children in 2003 and hadn't seen her 16-year-old ina year and a half.

"They should've contacted me as soon as possible. Like ASAP. It happened Friday at 2:30 p.m," she said.

Scott wants to know the circumstances surroundingherdaughter's death and why it took so long for her to be notified about it.

Courtney Scott's mother said the teen had 'a lot of joy.' (Facebook)

Thefoster home where Courtney Scott lived is operated by Stepping Stones, a private residential providerlicensedby the Ministry of Children and Youth Services.On Tuesday, they put out a statement saying they werecooperating fully with investigators.

'She was very sweet'

Heidi Quayle, a fetal alcohol specialist in Cobourg, Ont.,worked with Scott for about a yearwhen she lived in a foster home there.

"She was very sweet. She was nothardenedat all," saidQuayle. "Just a very loving person."

"She did have fetal alcohol spectrum disorder," she said. "I was asked to work with her because of my understanding of fetal alcohol spectrum and how that affects the brain."

Quaylesaid Scott'sbrain injurymade her quite vulnerable at times. "[It] did cause her to get into trouble but it was never in an oppositional or defiant way. It was more because she would misjudge or fall in with the wrong crowd."

One of the things Quayleworked on with Scott was building upher confidence because she often forgot things and doubted herself as a result.

"She had real struggles there and she was victimized at times by people who took advantage of that," saidQuayle.

The Office of the Fire Marshal said Wednesday the fire has been deemed not suspicious and said the regional coroner's office is taking the lead in the investigation.

The Children's Aid Society of Ottawa said the foster home is operated by Stepping Stones, a private residential provider licensed by the Ministry of Children and Youth Services. (Omar Dabaghi-Pacheco/CBC)