By Healthcare Facilities Today

Five people were confirmed dead and 31 were missing after a fire at Canadian nursing home built out of wood according to an article on the McKnight's website.

The death toll almost certainly will rise, because the missing people nearly all “have challenges moving around,” local Parliament member François Lapointe told The Associated Press in an article. Witnesses, including firefighters, described hearing and seeing people who could not be rescued. 

The fire began around 12:20 a.m., according to reports from the town of L'Isle-Verte, a community of about 1,500 people located 140 miles northeast of Quebec City. The flames consumed the west wing of the Résidence du Havre, a 52-unit facility that opened in 1997.

A firewall separated the west wing from the east wing, allowing about 20 residents to be evacuated from that side of the complex, according to the Globe and Mail. Reports indicate that the west wing had only a partial automatic sprinkler system, and the building was constructed entirely of wood, the article said. A cause still has not been determined, according to authorities.

Disaster preparation in general and automatic sprinkler systems in particular both have gained attention recently in the U.S. long-term care sector. In August, a requirement for U.S. nursing homes to have full sprinkler systems took effect. At the time, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services identified more than 700 facilities that were not in compliance. Earlier this month, CMS issued a proposed nursing home regulation outlining more stringent disaster preparedness requirements.

Read the article.