Vigil planned for former Niagara Falls boy, 12
A candlelight service to honour a former Niagara Falls boy whose life was cut short due to carbon monoxide poisoning will be held Saturday.
Twelve-year-old Trai Schlicter died earlier this month in Alberta after his family’s apartment building filled with the toxic gas known as the silent killer.
Alicia Harris, friend of Trai’s mother Elysha Schlichter, is organizing an outdoor can- dlelight service Saturday at Firemen’s Park to honour the young boy she called her nephew and her son’s best friend.
“Trai and Brendon were best friends,” she said.
“They were never without one another. They were brothers.”
Born in Niagara Falls, Trai attended Riverview, Valley Way and Simcoe Street public schools before the family moved to Alberta.
Harris said her son, also 12, is struggling to come to terms with the loss of his friend.
“He’s lost without him,” she said. His mother says she will be forever grateful to Harris for organizing the Niagara Falls service. “Half of his life was spent loving so many people from his hometown,” Schlichter said.
“It means a lot knowing people will be able to come together and grieve together … and feel his presence and be comforted by others who loved him as well.”
Elysha Schlichter’s wife Jayla Thompson discovered Trai unresponsive in his bedroom at their Calgary-area apartment on Feb. 4.
He was rushed to hospital in critical condition and later died.
The RCMP have said an improperly vented water heater had caused a build up of deadly carbon monoxide gas.
Carbon monoxide is known as the silent killer. The odourless and tasteless toxic gas is undetectable in a home. It kills about 50 Canadians every year.
The memorial service will not only celebrate Trai’s life, Harris said, but it will also raise awareness of the importance of carbon monoxide alarms.
“They should be mandatory everywhere,” she said.
Shortly after Trai’s death, family friends launched a petition on change.org - called Project Trai calling for the Alberta government to strengthen legislation around carbon monoxide alarms. To date, more than 16,600 people have signed the online petition.