An Orillia, Ont. retirement home that burnt down Monday had no sprinklers in the building, according to the property owner.
Two residents were killed in the blaze and eight others are in hospital in critical condition. Two people were released from hospital last night.
Dean Rushlow, owner of the Muskoka Heights Retirement Residence, told the Toronto Star the building was built at a time when sprinklers were not mandatory. He told the paper that the retirement home had recently passed a fire inspection.
The Ontario Fire Marshal's Office is expected to update the public on their investigation into the fatal fire on Tuesday afternoon.
Emergency crews were called to the scene at 327 Old Muskoka Rd. at 6:05 a.m., an Orillia Fire Department spokesperson told ctvtoronto.ca on Monday. Flames could be seen shooting out of a second-storey window of the older structure and thick smoke billowed over the neighbourhood.
Twenty-four people, including least one staff member, were inside the Muskoka Heights Retirement Residence at the time of the blaze, Orillia Police Const. Peter Leon said.
The Fire Marshal said Monday it could take days before the cause of the fire is determined.
Orillia is located about 130 kilometres north-east of Toronto.
