Nighttime fire in western P.E.I. seniors home forces evacuation

WELLINGTON, P.E.I. – A fire inside a seniors home in western P.E.I. forced 47 residents from the building on Monday night, but there were no reports of serious injuries.

Desmond Arsenault, spokesman for the Wellington Fire Department, says soon after the fire was reported at 9:40 p.m. at the Chez Nous long-term care facility, firefighters, police and many local residents arrived at the scene to help residents evacuated from the building.

Arsenault says many of the residents were frightened and confused as they were led outside, some of them dressed in their nightclothes.

They were quickly loaded into private vehicles, police cars, ambulances and eight school buses before being shuttled to the nearby Royal Canadian Legion.

Firefighters from Miscouche, Tyne Valley and New London were called in to fight the fire, which caused extensive smoke damage.

The residents were eventually taken to a hotel in Woodstock, P.E.I.

Feature image by iStock.com/Chalongrat Chuvaree