A 71-year-old woman has died after a fire at a New Brunswick seniors’ complex.
Emergency crews were called at around 5 a.m. on Tuesday to the Grand Washademoak Lions Seniors Complex in Coles Island, which is about an hour east of Fredericton.
The victim, who was a resident of the six-unit building, was found deceased at the scene.
According to John Peckford, the president of the Lions Club, the fire began in the victim’s bedroom.
“I just talked to the fire marshal’s and they’re not 100 per cent sure but it does look like a candle fell over and it fell on top of a bunch of plastic clothing,” he said.
Peckford said a neighbour across the hallway heard the smoke detector and alerted the other residents, but they were unable to open the victim’s door.
In total, five other residents were safely evacuated from the building and are being cared for by the Canadian Red Cross.
“They all lived together and knew each other fairly well. It’s a shock to them. I don’t think it’s set in for them yet,” Peckford said.
He says a clean-up crew and insurance adjusters will have to visit the building, but he anticipates residents will be able to return soon.
“I think that once the clean-up crew gets here tomorrow morning, once they do their initial assessment, I think the other five tenants will be able to move back in probably tomorrow night … Friday at the latest,” he said.
RCMP say the fire is still under investigation, but it does not appear to be suspicious at this time.
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