The resident of a CHSLD in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu died in a fire which hit the building administered by the CISSS de la Montérégie-Centre on Sunday. A coroner’s inquest has been opened.
The fire broke out around 11 a.m. on the third floor of the CHSLD George-Phaneuf, rue Jacques-Cartier, in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu.
The fire department and the police department of the City of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu both assisted in the evacuation of residents from the building. It was then that they found a man requiring transport to the hospital, specifies agent Jérémie Levesque, spokesperson for the Police Department of the City of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. The resident was pronounced dead at the hospital.
“It’s a very sad event,” laments Chantal Vallée, executive advisor for media relations at the CISSS de la Montérégie-Centre. “Our thoughts are with the family and loved ones. We offer them our most sincere condolences and our hearts go out to them,” she told The Press by email.
The fire itself was brought under control quickly, Mr. Levesque also affirms.
Other residents were not injured in the fire. Some rooms were affected by water used to put out the flames. Residents therefore had to be temporarily relocated. The families were also notified, specifies Mme Valley.
Members of the CHSLD staff, for their part, consulted at the hospital in connection with the fire. Psychosocial services have been set up to support people who need them, whether residents or employees of the CHSLD.
The cause of the fire is not criminal, according to Mr. Levesque. The investigation was transferred to the coroner due to the mortality. Both the police force and the CISSS de la Montérégie-Centre will collaborate in the investigation.
“We have also initiated an internal investigation [au CISSS] », underlines Mme Valley.
“We would like to salute the mobilization of our clinical teams, technical services, security, etc. who went to the scene and acted quickly in the circumstances, thanks Mme Valley. We are working to allow residents to return to their rooms as soon as possible. »