Coroner’s jury recommends mandatory automatic sprinklers in care facilities

A coroner’s jury exploring a deadly fire at an Orillia, Ontario retirement home three years ago is recommending that the province make automatic sprinklers mandatory in care occupancies.

The recommendation to install the sprinklers retroactively in so-called B3 facilities is one of 39 penned in the wake of the Muskoka Heights Retirement Home fire on January 19, 2009 that claimed the lives of four residents. The facilities are home to people who require special or supervisory care because of cognitive or physical limitations.

“We are hopeful that the government will mandate this important improvement as soon as possible,” notes a statement from the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs.

Citing the coroner’s jury report, The City of Orillia Fire Department reports that only B3 occupancies built after 1997 require automatic sprinklers. Costs vary but start at $3 per square foot, roughly equivalent to that of installing new carpet.

The jury further recommends installation of smoke detectors in all sleeping rooms, and automatic door closers and hold-open devices throughout the occupancies. The timing for implementing the improvement would be one to five years, the Orillia Fire Department estimates.

The jury also called for seeking jail time for those in default of fire safety-related fines. “Unfortunately, the $62,500 fine against Muskoka Heights and the $18,750 fine against Gail Wilson, home administrator, for violating the Ontario Fire Code remain unpaid,” adds the fire department.