L'Isle-Verte nursing home fire
Location of Quebec in Canada
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| Time | 12:35 am |
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| Date | January 23, 2014 |
| Location | Résidence du Havre, L'Isle-Verte, Quebec, Canada |
| Coordinates | 48°01′01″N 69°20′08″W / 48.0170°N 69.3355°WCoordinates: 48°01′01″N 69°20′08″W / 48.0170°N 69.3355°W |
| Cause | Kitchen fire |
| Deaths | 28 known + 4 presumed |
| Non-fatal injuries | 15 |
| Property damage | Nursing home, clinic and pharmacy destroyed |
| Website | residenceduhavre.com |
The L'Isle-Verte nursing home fire took place around 12:35 a.m. on January 23, 2014, at the Résidence du Havre nursing home in L'Isle-Verte, Quebec, Canada, killing thirty-two people and injuring fifteen.
The impacted wing of the building burned to the ground, leaving only the elevator shaft intact. A number of residents were taken to hospital, including 13 people who had carbon monoxide poisoning or fell ill. Officials said rescuers were unable to carry out a complete evacuation because of the intensity of the fire. Many of the victims used wheelchairs and walkers.
Twenty seven bodies were recovered during an initial search, which ended February 1. A Montreal coroner's lab was to identify the remaining five missing by forensic DNA analysis of bone fragments and remains from the site. As of January 21, 2015, two of these five were identified.
Two firefighters were injured during the rescue operation.
After talking to police, the lone overnight worker at Résidence du Havre, Bruno Bélanger, told Québecor Média he is "95% sure" the fire was caused by a cigarette, lit by a resident he refused to let outside to smoke less than an hour earlier. He said black smoke was billowing above the ajar door of the man's second-floor room, room 206. When he tried to help, he "began to suffocate" and had to leave. On the way to safety, he rescued a man who had broken his leg by jumping from his balcony.
The all-wooden building was partially equipped with sprinklers, which were in a firewalled annex but not in the original structure. The investigation is hampered by a thick (up to 40 cm) layer of ice on the ruins, the firefighting water exposed to temperatures around -35°C. Three teams of investigators worked 19 hours on January 25, in around -18°C weather, before breaking till 7 am the next day. The teams started by chopping the ice, later bringing in ship de-icing equipment and using steam to melt ice to avoid further damaging any bodies.
Officially, investigators found the first tangible clues of a cause for the fire on January 31 but had disclosed nothing; police claimed it could take months to determine what happened. Fifty workers, an electrician and a chemist were investigating the wreckage, armed with a search warrant in case evidence of criminal negligence was discovered. In late March, police investigators claimed the fire had started in the kitchen, dismissing the theory of a cigarette causing the blaze. Suspecting negligence, police have asked the lone employee on duty, Bruno Bélanger, to take a polygraph test; he declined.
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Wikipedia