Simcoe County councillors are applauding the emergency response that safely evacuated 24 residents from a seniors' residence in Stayner during a January fire. The blaze broke out Jan. 14 at The Belmont, an independent seniors' living facility in Clearview Township about 40 minutes northwest of Barrie. No one was seriously hurt, though the fire displaced every resident of the home.
A staff report presented at Tuesday's committee of the whole meeting detailed how county personnel backed up Clearview Fire and Emergency Services and facility staff, arranging temporary shelter and assistance for everyone forced from the building. While many residents were able to stay with friends or family, 11 were taken by county buses to a hotel for short-term lodging and assessment by community paramedics. Emergency social services staff were placed on standby, and the county's community emergency management co-ordinator was sent to the scene after direct contact was established with Clearview fire officials. Buses from Georgian Manor and Sunset Manor transported residents to the hotel, which had been secured by facility management, and dietary and program support teams from both long-term care homes supplied snacks, water and a driver on short notice. Paramedic services provided on-site care at the hotel and have made several follow-up visits since, according to the report.
"The partnership that was demonstrated between the paramedic services and the local fire services, and the staff at The Belmont, was spectacular," Clearview Mayor Doug Measures said during Tuesday's meeting, as OrilliaMatters reported. "There were no serious injuries. There were a couple of minor trip and fall injuries as people were trying to evacuate the facility. "And congratulations obviously go to the staff of The Belmont, who were able to successfully remove all of their residents and all of their staff from the building as the place was filling up with smoke," he added. The report noted bystanders and the fire department reported staff re-entering the smoke-filled building several times to get residents out, and that the home was almost entirely clear by the time firefighters arrived.
Residents recovering while facility is repaired
The facility's owner activated an evacuation contingency plan and, working with Clearview Township, has since secured alternate accommodations for all residents. Jane Sinclair, the county's general manager of health and emergency services, said 11 residents were temporarily moved to Midland while the others stayed with family and friends. Those taken to Midland have since returned to an interim location in the area while the Stayner building is repaired. "It was really a great success by all parties," Sinclair said during the meeting, adding that the owner's own contingency plan made a "critical difference" in the emergency.
The response also showcased the "strength of our partnerships" in supporting the facility's residents, she said. "It's nice to hear how everyone worked together and how everyone was safe," said Bradford West Gwillimbury Deputy Mayor Raj Sandhu, who asked whether lessons could be drawn from the incident to improve future responses. "There is always an opportunity to be better," he said. Sandhu also asked whether county staff would review private emergency plans on request. Grant Durfey, the county's manager of emergency management, said emergency management's on-scene support role is still relatively new locally, and staff continue discussing co-ordination with paramedics and Clearview fire. "We want to make sure we are doing better next time," Durfey said. He said staff are always willing to sit down with any facility to see how its plan connects with emergency services, though they would be hesitant to formally confirm or approve a private facility's plan.
