Entire wing of nursing home destroyed by fire; staff hailed as heroes

The back portion of a nursing home in Whitby, Ont. was destroyed by fire on Monday, Oct. 27, 2014.

Staff members at a Whitby, Ont., nursing home are being hailed as heroes after their quick-thinking actions helped nearly 200 seniors escape a fire that destroyed an entire wing.

The fire started shortly before 10 a.m. on Monday at the Fairview Lodge, located at 632 Dundas St. W. Firefighters fought the blaze late into the night, and were still on scene with hoses, watching for hotspots on Tuesday morning.

While firefighters managed to prevent the blaze from consuming the entire nursing home, the back section of Fairview was leveled by the fire.

The building's 192 residents -- many of whom depend on walkers and wheelchairs for mobility -- were quickly evacuated after the fire broke out. No one was seriously injured. A staff member was treated for smoke inhalation, but is recovering well.

Area residents who saw the fire raging on Monday say workers at the home who helped with the evacuation effort should be commended for their actions.

"I was very impressed with the efficiency of the staff. They were incredible," Jane Baxter told CTV Toronto. She added that heavy smoke was billowing behind the workers as they “calmly” walked the residents out of the building onto a bus.

Residents have since been relocated to other nursing homes in Durham Region.

Fairview says it will be building a new nursing home, located next door to their old one. That building was not outfitted with sprinklers, but staff had fire drills three times a month.

Students at nearby E.A. Fairman Public School were also evacuated on Monday. They were taken to a local secondary school by bus as a precaution when smoke began to waft from the nursing home toward the school yard.

The school remained closed on Tuesday, as Durham District School Board staff inspect the air quality of the building.

Staff were present Tuesday morning in case students arrived, and any students who did not stay home were redirected to West Lynde Public School for the day.

The Ontario Fire Marshal will determine a dollar loss later in the day. Investigators are looking into how and where the fire started.

It's believed to have started somewhere in the roof of a building in the complex, but no details have been confirmed.

With a report from CTV Toronto’s Janice Golding