Seniors home fire claims woman, 94

TERREBONE, Que. (CP) — The seniors’ residence that was the site of an overnight fire that claimed the life of a 94-year-old woman was in the process of installing a sprinkler system, Quebec’s minister responsible for seniors said Sunday.

“We were a few days from doing the first water tests at the level of the residence,” Francine Charbonneau said in a phone interview, adding she couldn’t say whether the new system had been activated the night of the fire.

Quebec provincial police said the 94-year-old woman died in hospital after the fire tore through the seniors’ residence northeast of Montreal early Sunday morning.

The woman was hospitalized in serious condition following the blaze, which police believe could be criminal in nature.

Local television footage showed residents standing on their balconies calling for help when firefighters arrived on the scene at about 1:30 Sunday morning.

Forty-three people were evacuated from the Oasis residence in Terrebonne, and twelve other people were hospitalized for smoke inhalation.

Two people remained in hospital on Sunday with injuries that were not considered lifethreatening, according to a spokesman for the regional health centre.

Police said preliminary information provided by firefighters suggests the fire may have been deliberately set.

According to information on the residence that is listed on the website for the Quebec government’s health and social services department, the residence had smoke detectors and alarms but no sprinkler system when the information was last updated in April 2016.

At that time, all but five of the home’s 32 residents were aged 75 and over.

About 70 firefighters fought the blaze, which appeared to be under control by around 6 a.m.