03 June 2010
Time for Improved Fire Safety in Retirement Homes
Ontario's Fire Chiefs back Miller's proposal for mandatory fire sprinklers

QUEEN'S PARK—MPP Paul Miller, NDP Seniors’ Issues Critic introduced a Bill to legislate mandatory sprinkler systems in every retirement home in Ontario.

Miller has waged a campaign to amend the McGuinty Liberals’ Bill 21, An Act to Regulate Retirement Homes to include mandatory sprinklers systems in every retirement home. Supporting him in his efforts, Chief Tim Beckett, President of the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs wrote to every Ontario MPP on May 28th, stating:

“It is of extreme disappointment that we find Bill 21; An Act to Regulate Retirement Homes has passed through committee without a vital amendment that was to include mandatory automatic sprinkler retrofit for those retirement homes that do not currently have them installed”; and

“Until retrofit sprinklers for Retirement Homes constructed prior to 1997 are introduced in the Ontario fire code, more of our seniors will be injured or die. This tragedy is preventable.”

“When is was clear that the McGuinty Liberals were not going to take this necessary action to protect seniors through Bill 21, I felt that I had to do something more, so this afternoon I introduced my Bill, Mandating Sprinklers in All Ontario Retirement Homes Act, 2010. When passed this Bill will ensure that this vital sprinkler retrofit must take place to protect our seniors from the horrors of retirement homes fires”, said Miller.

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Media Contact: Paul Miller (416) 325-0707

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