Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey says he’s directed several government departments to make immediate changes to improve fire safety in response to the Driftwood Inn fire. (Darryl Murphy/CBC)
Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey says he’s directed several government departments to make immediate changes to improve safety after a fatal fire last month in Deer Lake.
One man died and dozens of hotel patrons narrowly escaped during the fire at the Driftwood Inn on Oct. 19.
The province’s Department of Justice and Public Safety has said that the investigation into the fire is “active and ongoing,” and it won’t prejudge the outcome of the investigation.
But, in the interim, Furey said he has moved ahead with some immediate measures that made sense even without a final report from the fire commissioner.
“Sometimes it takes an event like this, unfortunately, to focus all government departments, all levels of government, towards how we can make things better, how we can make things safer,” Furey told CBC News.
Comments fuelled concern
Furey said the impetus for the changes he’s requested comes directly from a recent meeting with members of two volleyball teams who were staying at the Driftwood Inn when the fire happened.
The premier travelled to Bishop’s Falls on Nov. 14 to meet with teachers, parents and players associated with the Leo Burke Academy Lightning teams.
Furey said, as a parent of children who travel to play sports, he was moved by what he heard.
“I felt their frustration, I felt their anxiety, I felt their stress, I felt the emotion of the event itself. I could put myself immediately in their shoes,” said Furey. “It helped me understand better what exactly they were going through.”
Safety briefings required
Furey says it was based on the recommendations of those parents that he’s moved ahead with directing government departments to make immediate changes.
One of the suggestions, he said, was that school teams who are travelling should be provided with safety briefings once they arrive where they’ll be staying.
The area of Deer Lake surrounding the Driftwood Inn had to be evacuated on Oct. 19. (Tom Stewart/Twitter)
“That’s something that we have sent out to schools immediately. If participating, we expect that there be a safety briefing,” said Furey.
CBC News has obtained a copy of a notice to school administrators dated Nov. 18, which outlines a “mandatory safety briefing requirement for all extracurricular activities that involve overnight travel.”
The briefing must take place at the “place of stay” before the first overnight stay, and would include safety protocols and procedures, such as walking fire escape routes to muster stations and providing a list of emergency contacts.
Checking fire inspection reports
Furey said he’s also directed the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation to work with the province’s fire commissioner on an inventory of hotels and motels across the province related to their fire inspection reports and to work with municipalities if those reports aren’t up to date.
“There’s nobody who should go into these establishments with kids or otherwise wondering if there’s smoke detectors, for example,” said Furey.
The premier said his intention is for this to be a collaborative approach across various departments of government.
But, Furey said, he stopped short of giving an exact deadline for the work to be completed.
“Rest assured it was communicated that this is an urgent issue and needs to be addressed immediately,” he said.
The premier said he’s also inquired to ensure that counselling will be provided to parents, students and teachers involved, either in individual counselling sessions or group sessions, if preferred.
Furey said he appreciates the help of parents in Bishop’s Falls who expressed their opinions and conveyed their emotions with the goal of coming up with solutions.
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