A fire on Saturday afternoon (March 1) at Golden Plough Lodge, the only municipally operated long-term care home in Northumberland County, has displaced seven residents but there were no injuries.
Emergency services responded at around 2:50 p.m. on Saturday to a fire in a resident’s room on the main floor in the Mcmillan Cottage area of the 151-bed Cobourg facility. There was no one in the room at the time of the fire.
While the fire was contained to the resident’s room and extinguished, smoke and water damage affected two other resident rooms on the main floor and, on the floor below, two additional resident rooms, a nurse’s station, and two office spaces.
All residents and staff in the vicinity of the fire were assessed. Although five staff members were transported to hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation, all residents were cleared with no health impacts.
“Staff are supporting and reassuring residents through this incident,” said Glenn Dees, Golden Plough’s director of health and human services, in a media release after the incident. “Northumberland County and Golden Plough Lodge staff thank the members of the Cobourg Fire Department, Northumberland Paramedics, and Cobourg Police for their timely and professional response to this incident.”
After the Cobourg Fire Department gave the all clear, all residents but seven were able to return to their rooms. Six of the displaced residents will be relocated to other rooms and Golden Plough are working with Ontario Health atHome to find an alternate placement for the seventh displaced resident.
County facilities staff have completed an assessment of the affected areas of the home. Restoration work is now underway and is anticipated to take several weeks.
In a second media release after the fire, Dees thanked staff “for their unwavering professionalism and quick action” in response to the incident.
“Special thanks also to the broader Northumberland County team for their rapid response, to our colleagues at Northumberland Hills Hospital and other partner agencies who offered support, and once again to our first responder partners, who acted with speed and expertise to ensure the safety and well-being of everyone involved,” Dees added.
Regular visiting hours resumed at the home on Sunday morning.
