WATCH: Whitby Fire Chief Dave Speed updates the status of the fire and confirms all residents and staff were safely evacuated
TORONTO – Hundreds of seniors were forced from a nursing home in Whitby following a fire Monday morning.
The blaze began around 10 a.m. at the Fairview Lodge near Dundas Street West and Cochrane Street.
Durham police say heavy smoke forced schools in the area to keep students inside and shifting winds forced crews to evacuate homes surrounding the fire.
However, students at E. A. Fairman Public School are being moved to Donald A Wilson as a precaution.
No injuries have been reported and the residents of the nursing home have been relocated to a nearby church.
“We practice fire drills three times a month, every month and we have a very well developed fire safety plan,” Laura MacDermaid, the director of long term care for the region of Durham said.
She said the staff’s first priority during a fire is to move residents behind the fire safety doors that are between each unit. Once all the residents are there, they begin to move them out of the building.
The staff are now trying to relocate the nearly 200 residents.
The Fairview Lodge is in the process of building a new home next to the old one but it’s not yet ready for residents. The home has three “sister homes” in the region and will be spreading residents amongst those homes in the interim.
The area remains closed to traffic as crews continue to work on the fire.
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