The opposition critic for fire and emergency services is calling for an investigation into the fire at the Driftwood Inn in Deer Lake over the weekend.
Specifically, Chris Tibbs wants answers about no staff being on site at the time, fire alarms not going off, and other fire suppression systems not functioning.
At the height of Saturday’s fire, five pumper trucks were working on knocking down the blaze with the local water system working at capacity.
Fire Chief Steven Rowsell says the Deer Lake Fire Department received help from Pasadena, Cormack and Reidville which sent pumper trucks and extra resources to the scene.
Rowsell says one of the challenges faced by firefighters was the building’s metal roof that prevented them from ventilating the fire.
Sleeping patrons were awakened by banging on their doors after others in the building woke and noticed the smoke.
Tibbs says he spoke with Melinda Sharpe, who suffered injuries to her hand banging on doors trying to wake people up. Tibbs says Sharpe’s efforts saved lives, but the situation could have turned out very differently.
He wants answers about when inspections were done and how thorough they were to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.