Burnaby MLA Kathy Corrigan is calling for older care facilities to be retrofitted with sprinklers, following a Quebec fire that left more than 28 seniors dead.
Corrigan, the MLA for Burnaby-Deer Lake, raised the issue in the Legislature on Feb. 18, along with her NDP colleague Katrine Conroy.
“There are currently almost a dozen care homes that don’t have adequate sprinkler systems. There are at least another eight that have no sprinkler systems whatsoever, and that represents hundreds, if not thousands, of seniors who are vulnerable,” Corrigan said, addressing Justice Minister Suzanne Anton. “Rather than waiting to do an inventory and rather than waiting to have another disaster like we had in Quebec, will this minister take immediate action to ensure that care facilities in this province are retrofitted with sprinklers?”
Health Minister Terry Lake responded by pointing out that the building code changed in 1996, requiring new care facilities be built with sprinklers, and that he asked for an inventory of the facilities in B.C. that don’t have full sprinkler systems.
“We’ll be meeting with health authorities and the B.C. care providers very soon to address this issue,” he said.
According to Corrigan, the NDP brought in the law requiring sprinklers in care facilities for seniors or people with disabilities, but it only applied to new buildings, so there are still some older facilities with no sprinklers.
“The regulation needs to be changed in order to force the retrofitting of sprinklers in care facilities,” she told the NOW.
Burnaby’s New Vista care home is the only one in Burnaby that she knows of that lacks sprinklers.
On Jan. 23, a fire raged through a Quebec seniors’ home that was not outfitted with sprinklers, killing at least 28 seniors, while another four are missing and presumed dead. The province of Ontario recently brought in legislation requiring seniors’ complexes to be retrofitted with sprinklers.
