More than 100 seniors evacuated from Barrie retirement home due to smoke (update)

Update (6 p.m.): As of 5:40 p.m. Friday, local fire officials say the evacuated residents are waiting at East Bayfield Community Centre on Livingstone Street East.

There is no estimate as to when they will be able to return, according to Deputy Chief Eric MacFadden.

MacFadden said they identified the source of the smoke as coming from an overheated washing machine located in a laundry room.

Electricians are also still on-scene troubleshooting electrical issues in the building, he said.

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ORIGINAL STORY

More than 100 residents of a seniors' home in downtown Barrie were evacuated due to smoke in the building, Friday afternoon.

Fire crews received the call around 1 p.m. on Jan. 10,and arrived at the Simcoe Terrace Retirement Centre, located at 44 Donald St., to find smoke.

Firefighters began searching for the source and the cause.

“There was smoke in the building and we’re not sure where,” Deputy Chief Eric MacFadden told BarrieToday.

“We think we’ve determined what it was, but (we're) unsure. We have some electricians on-site trying to deal with power issues we are having there,” he added.

The throng of seniors was ushered onto at least three city buses to keep them safe and warm.

“We’re currently working on a contingency plan for somewhere to take them should they not be able to get back in the building sooner than later,” MacFadden said.

“We are in the process of activating some of the locations where we can send people so they're not stuck on a bus, if it’s going to be a couple of hours," he added. 

MacFadden said the retirement home has a “pretty good evacuation procedure in place, so it went really smooth that way. 

"But obviously, due to the temperature, it was important to get them on buses as soon as possible," he said. 

BarrieToday will provide more information as details become available.