- Author
- Goodyear, D.
- Title
- Extendicare Starwood Fire, 114, Starwood Drive, Napean, Ontario, August 14, 1989. Fire Investigation Report.
- Coporate
- Office of the Fire Marshall, Canada
- Report
- Fire Investigation Report, December 10, 1991, 21 p.
- Keywords
- fire investigations | nursing homes | fire fatalities | combustion products | patients | air conditioning equipment | elderly persons | occupants
- Abstract
- At approximately 10:08 on the morning of August 14, 1989, the Nepean Fire Department received a telephone call reporting a fire at the Extendicare - Starwood nursing home. Before the fire events were concluded several hours later, one occupant was dead and a second would die later in hospital due to the effects of the fire and nearly 200 occupants had been evacuated and required relocation. The total damage was estimated at almost one million dollars. The fire originated in a modified air conditioning unit in a patient's room on the ground floor at the end of one wing of the complex. Staff proceeded to rescue occupants and close patient room doors, however, smoke and products of combustion quickly contaminated the corridor hampering evacuation procedures. Several of the elderly occupants were evacuated through the windows of their rooms. The two storey nursing home was a modern structure of non-combustible construction. A Fire Safety Plan had been prepared and a full complement of staff were on duty at the time of the fire. The first fire fighting crew from the Nepean Fire Department was on the scene within seven minutes of the alarm. The arriving crew found a chaotic scene of patients being evacuated and flames coming from the window of the room of fire origin. The fire was quickly suppressed and fire damage was confined to the room of origin and heat damage in the corridor. Smoke damage however occurred throughout the entire wing of the building. Two occupants of the nursing home died from smoke inhalation. One died at the time of the fire and one died several months later. Both victims were in a room at the opposite end of corridor on the ground floor. The following significant factors contributed to the loss of life and the severity of property damage: 1. The improper maintenance of the air conditioning units in the rooms resulted in protective features of the air conditioners being compromised. 2. The rapid rate of fire growth in the room of origin provided virtually no early warning to the occupants or staff. 3. The initial high fuel load presented by the wooden wardrobe in the area of origin caused a considerable release of products of combustion. 4. The contamination of the corridor within seconds of the fire starting prevented the smooth evacuation of occupants. 5. The inability of the staff to simultaneously handle both the needs of containing the fire and the evacuation of occupants.