Whitby village welcomes 41 residents evacuated by fire
By Kristian Partington
Taunton Mills general manager Noella Black’s eyes glisten with emotion as she recounts the events of Oct. 27, when a devastating fire broke out in Whitby’s Fairview Lodge, forcing the evacuation of almost 200 long-term care residents. Thanks to the preparedness of the Fairview Lodge team and the efforts of first responders from across the region, there were no physical injuries, but the residents who were evacuated with nothing but the clothes on their back were in dire need of a safe place to stay and whatever comfort the community could provide.
“Right away I called the Region of Durham (which owns and operates Fairview Lodge), which then redirected me to the police and I just said ‘we’d be offering help, we could offer support, whatever you need,’ ” Noella recalls. Her phone started ringing shortly after and by dinner time, the team and residents at the Village of Taunton Mills were welcoming 41 displaced residents, feeding them a warm meal even as team members and volunteers were assembling beds that had been rushed to the village’s Town Hall by community partners from Shopper’s Home Health Care.
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