Fire that displaced elderly residents at Le Chez-Nous ruled accidental

The fire at a community care home in Wellington, P.E.I., that displaced 47 elderly residents has been ruled accidental.

The fire marshal's office says it has completed its investigation of the Jan. 19 fire at Le Chez-Nous.

The fire occurred in a crawl space on the basement level off the furnace room, according to an email to CBC News. 

The cause was attributed to a "fault in electrical circuitry from the original structure built on-site," it said.

The investigation included staff from the fire marshal's office, as well as investigators from an insurance company, a propane expert, provincial electrical inspection, and an electrical engineer from Halifax.

There were no injuries related to the fire or evacuation.

Many of the residents of the home have been temporarily relocated to the Mill River Resort.

Residents doing well

Those residents are doing well, said Marcel Richard, president of the Le Chez-Nous board.

He said they now have a common room to gather and play games, and have also had some live entertainment in recent days to help take their mind off the fire. 

"That was our big thing. We wanted to try to get them out of their rooms because ... they just seem like they were just sitting there. And I think too much time on their hands thinking and, you know, wondering what was all going to happen."

Richard said it's not yet clear how much longer residents will be at Mill River, where they might go next, or how long it could be before they are able to return to Le Chez-Nous in Wellington. 

He said he would reserve comment on the cause of the fire until he spoke with the other board members.

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