Woman, 94, dies of burns at residence in Terrebonne
A 94-year-old woman has died of severe burn wounds after a fire tore through her seniors’ residence in Terrebonne Sunday morning.
Forty-three seniors had to be removed from the Oasis seniors’ residence, located on St-Louis St. Twelve others were hospitalized for smoke inhalation.
When firefighters arrived at about 1:30 a.m., flames were sky high and several residents were on their balcony, asking for help. Police and firefighters were able to remove them quickly.
About 70 firefighters from Terrebonne and neighbouring municipalities fought the flames. By 6 a.m. the fire was under control but the facility was destroyed.
A preliminary analysis of the scene suggested the cause of the fire might be criminal in nature.
An attendant from the private residence was on site and assisted with the evacuation, said Christian Gagné, deputy chief executive officer of the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux in Lanaudière.
“There may have been someone keeping watch, but that, I cannot assure you,” Gagné said.
Two other victims are in a hospital in Montreal, but Gagné said they are in stable condition.
All patients were seen by a doctor before 6 a.m., Gagné said. The residents were put into the care of the CISSS’s crisis staff.
Terrebonne police captain Benoît Bilodeau announced at 10:15 a.m. Sunday that the Sûreté de Québec have taken over the ongoing investigation.
The seniors’ residence had just installed sprinklers, according to Quebec’s minister responsible for seniors Francine Charbonneau. She could not say whether they were activated at the time of the fire, but said “the process was in place to activate them.”
According to the most recent data from the registry of private seniors’ residences from the minister of health and social services — which dates back to April 2016 — the Oasis residence had a smoke detector and a fire alarm system but did not have sprinklers.
According to the same registry, 32 residents lived in the home in 2016. Of these, 13 were 85 and over, and 14 were between 75 and 84 years old. Five were between the ages of 65 and 74.