50 residents displaced as Cornwall's Care Centre closed due to fire code violations

The Cornwall Fire Service has closed an affordable care residence after numerous fire safety violations came to light during a recent inspection.

Approximately 50 residents at the Care Centre have been moved to temporary housing while the building owner says he will rectify the issues. All but two residents have since moved out. Staff say they're working to get the last two residents out of the building, who've said they refuse to leave.

On Friday, residents with their belongings could be seen moving out of the building.

 "Everybody feels very anxious wondering where we're headed," said resident Kirk Brown, who has been living at the Care Centre since October. 

Brown, who uses a wheelchair, says he was notified Thursday that the building was being shut down.

"I don't know where I'm going or how we're going to end up doing anything," he said frustratingly. "I get my meals and everything with my rent. Get my laundry done and my showers three times a week."

"Stress was unbelievable, very palatable. You couldn't do anything," Brown said. 

The Cornwall Fire Service says serious fire violations under the Ontario Fire Code were found during a recent visit to the building, which is the city's former hospital.

An inspection order was taped to the front door citing, "the fire alarm system currently serving the building is not being maintained in operating condition."

Issues included the fire alarm panel cannot be repaired due to its age, the panel is no longer supported by the manufacturer, and the fire alarm panel on the third floor is no longer communicating with the fire alarm panel on the main floor. The elevators in the building are also not working. The owner has been given six months to rectify the issues.

Kirk Brown is a resident of the Care Centre in Cornwall. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)

Fire Chief Matthew Stephenson says this move is a preventative measure.

"The fire code is very specific with the types of buildings and with the types of protection that are required, and in this situation, this is what we are enforcing, the protection for the residents of that building," he said. 

The fire service was authorized by the Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal to close the building and is acting through the authority of the Ontario Fire Code. 

Stephenson said that outstanding and immediate threat to life issues can be and will be corrected.

"When we talk about immediate threat to life we are talking about those items that really are the first area of notification for the residents," he said. 

"We've conducted numerous inspections and have been in close contact with the owner of the operation and through numerous points of contact. We've been unsuccessful to date to get some of those items rectified which has necessitated the action that we are taking now," Stephenson added. 

The building's co-owner, Daniel Orr, has been ordered to make the upgrades by Sept. 1, 2023, and says he will comply.

 "Of course I will. I'm not trying to shortcut any rules," Orr said. "Quite honestly, I'm trying to follow Jesus and that means following the rules and I'm trying to do what's good and right."

Police and fire officials in Cornwall assist residents leaving the Care Centre on Friday. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)

Orr says he's frustrated about the 24-hour eviction after he thought the recent fire inspection went well.

"In both times that they did the fire drill they pulled pole switches and set off fire alarms and the bells activated as they should. I believe everything was moving forward," he said. 

"I've been working together, talking to people from different alarm companies to be able to rectify the issue with the panel. We just happen to have an old fire panel that's really hard to get someone to work on," Orr said. 

Orr said around 50 people live in the affordable housing units, ranging from young people to seniors. 

They pay $1,400 a month, which includes three meals a day, internet and TV. The city is covering meals for the displaced residents while they set up in temporary locations like local hotels. 

"I have grandmas and grandpas that have been crying and that don't want to leave and they are being threatened and being told that they will be arrested if they don't leave," Orr said. 

"It doesn't seem to be the best way to go about trying to resolve an issue or do good things for a community. They don't want to leave they are distraught and upset," he said.

"I tell them, I can't tell them what to do, they have to make their own decisions, but I'm going to do my best to rectify it as quickly as possible," Orr added. 

Cornwall Social Services, police and fire were helping residents with the situation on Friday as residents continued to board buses.

"Every resident does have a place to go and we've facilitated that through our housing services department," Stephenson said. 

"As the fire chief, I'm here to ensure the safety of the residents of the building and that is it. That is simply what we are doing here," he said.

"There is no vendetta. This is simply taking action on a current situation that we are dealing with. This is not something that we strive to do. The last resort or the last option for us is to displace people," he added. 

"Our ultimatum is to have a concern for their safety and unfortunately this is the means of ensuring their safety, to know that they are going to places that are current and have those safety standards in place," Stephenson said. 

While some residents said they would not leave by the 4:30 p.m. deadline, Brown said he would comply, although worried about what his future might hold.

"Where I'm going? God knows," he said. "One can only hope, because right now it doesn't look good for me to go anywhere."