Inadequate staffing and delays by rescuers play a role in fire fatalities
A 2014 fire that killed 32 people at a Quebec nursing home was made worse by inadequate staffing, delays by rescuers and a section of the building that failed to meet provincial codes, a coroner’s report said. Cyrille Delage’s report was based on the testimony of more than 50 witnesses at hearings into the fire at the Residence du Havre home in L’Isle-Verte.
Part of the home did not "satisfy the legal norms and regulations" required for physically dependent residents, Delage wrote.There were not enough staff members, and they were not adequately trained to help residents in an emergency. The report also pointed to lengthy delays before firefighters arrived and requested help from neighboring municipalities.
"It was the combination of all these factors, during the winter on top of that, that led to the result we knew," the coroner wrote.
Delage also called for automatic sprinklers, as well as better training for staff and heat-and-smoke detectors connected to a central alarm.
