RIVIERE-DU-LOUP, Que. — The contractor who built the seniors’ residence that burned last January, killing 32 people, said it did not comply with building-code standards in place at the time of the blaze.
Denis Michaud testified on Wednesday at the coroner’s inquest looking into the fire in L’Isle-Verte in eastern Quebec.
Michaud said the corridor, a pharmacy and three rooms on the main floor were not equipped with fire-barrier kits.
He said he designed the Residence du Havre to comply with regulations for an apartment building.
Earlier this week, a spokesperson for the agency that oversees the province’s building standards testified that fire-separation mechanisms should have been present if elderly people without autonomy were living on the main floor.
Three senior citizens deemed non-autonomous were indeed living on that floor.
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