Is 'bungling' a noun in the context and is the sentence still grammatical if 'they' is omitted? Stung in the past by criticism of bungling that [they] allowed fires to spread when they might have been contained... The original sentences: Stung in the past by criticism of bungling that allowed fires to spread when they might have been contained, personnel are meeting the peculiar challenges of neighborhood—and canyon—hopping fires better than previously, observers say.