Premier Andrew Furey says government has made several immediate policy changes in the wake of a fatal fire at the Driftwood Inn in Deer Lake.

The blaze broke out on October 19 while many patrons at the inn were still asleep. It was initially thought that everyone had made it out, however it was later revealed that an American man, 77-year-old Eugene Earl Spoon, died in the fire.

Furey says he had the chance to meet with the parents of young volleyball players who made it out of the Driftwood Inn a few weeks ago.

He says the parents came forward with stories that were hard to tell, and hard for him to listen to. He says he wanted to come up with a plan that reflected the emotion he heard from those parents.

Furey notes that there is an ongoing police investigation into the fire, and he can’t do anything that would interfere with that.

However, he did give direction to several government departments on steps they could immediately take, such as requiring all school sanctioned events that require a hotel stay to have an on-site safety briefing.

Furey has also asked the tourism department to create an inventory of hotels and their fire code status.

He says that list will then be given to the fire commissioner, who can work with municipalities to ensure all hotels are up to code.