Watch above: A Quebec coroner began the task of investigating what cause a tragic fire at a seniors residence in L’Isle-Verte earlier this year. The point of the inquest is not to lay blame, but to ensure that disaster never happens again. Mike Armstrong reports.
MONTREAL — A public inquiry into the tragic fire that killed 32 residents of a seniors home in the small town of L’Isle-Verte began on Monday.
Coroner Cyrille Delâge will head the inquest looking into the circumstances that led to the fire that took place nearly one year ago, when the Résidence de Havre burned to the ground on a freezing January night.
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There are many factors that affected how the fire was battled on Jan. 23. Extreme cold weather complicated the work of emergency crews, there were no sprinklers installed in the older section of the residence, which was quickly consumed by flames.
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Also a concern was whether local volunteer fire brigades were well equipped enough to handle such an immense fire.
It took almost 20 minutes for the fire chief to call in reinforcements after the first fire truck arrived at the seniors home.
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It was weeks before the identities could be confirmed of several of the 32 people who died in the blaze, as so many of the victims were so badly burned.
The inquest starts on Monday at the courthouse in Rivière-du-Loup and is expected to last for six days, ending on Nov. 26.
The list of witnesses expected to testify at the public inquiry has not yet been made public.
Watch: Coverage of the L’Isle Verte fire
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