L'Isle-Verte quietly marks 3 years since deadly fire at seniors' home

There will be no mass orpublic ceremony tomarkthe anniversary of the deadlyseniors' residence fireinL'Isle-Verte, Que. three years ago today.

Instead, residents of the small townabout 450 kilometres northeast of Montreal will be left to remember the 32 lives lost in their own way. And for some, memories of that night are still very painful.

"Everyone thinks about it, but no one speaks about it much," said Father Gilles Frigon, the priest at St-Jean Baptiste de L'Isle-Verte church.

"Expressions sometimes saya lot, without words. If you look, you can see that there is an open wound."

• L'Isle-Verteseniors' home fire: Coroner blames staffing, response time

On Jan. 23, 2014, a fierce fire swept through the Rsidence du Havre, killing 32 people who were caught within its walls.

The residence housed just over 50 seniors, including many who used walkers and wheelchairs.

The cause of the fire is still unknown, but a coroner found that several factors, including a lack of overnight staffing, contributed to the deaths.

In addition, the section of the Rsidence du Havre that burned to the ground was not equipped with automatic sprinklers.

No criminal charges in relation to the fire were ever brought forward by Quebec Crown prosecutors.

However, in 2015theprovincial government passed legislation that madeautomatic sprinklers mandatory in most seniors' residences. They have until December 2020 to comply.

• L'Isle-Verte fire: Quebec prosecutor won't lay charges

Residents moving forward

With time, some residents of the community are coming to terms with the events of that night.

A witness of the fire saidthatafter more than a year of having nightmares, he's starting to sleep better.

"I haven't necessarily accepted it," said Andr-Jules Lvesque, a former orderly at the residence. "But I've learned to tolerate it."

According to Pierre-Paul Malenfant, the civil safety coordinator of the Lower St. Lawrence health authority, no one has forgotten the deadly fire, but life has continued.

"How the community has taken this in hand and moved past it, it's really a great example of resilience," said Malenfant.

Remains of the buildingstill standing

The remains of the Rsidence du Havre still haunt the centre of the town. Little has been done with the burnt out structure since the night of the fire.

"I will really be able to turn the page when they dosomething with that building. It's like a big black spot in L'Isle-Verte," said Lvesque.

The owner of the residence, Roch Bernier, told Radio-Canada that he doesn't know when the building will be demolished. For the time being, he is focusing his energyon a new seniors' residence he opened in Rivire-du-Loup in May, he said.

• L'Isle-Verte seniors' home first responders receive bravery medal

L'Isle-Verte Mayor Ursule Thriault said there's much more to the town than the tragedy. She feels that a number of new projects will help turn the page.

Those projects include include setting up an eco-friendly neighbourhood in the town and developing an agri-tourism zone along Highway 132, which runs through L'Isle-Verte.

Thereare also plans to expand a seniors' residence, the Villa Rose-des-Vents, which currently houses a dozen people, to double its capacity.

• Many privately run seniors' homes in Quebec still without sprinkler systems

"I think that the people of L'Isle-Verte are doing well, that they're moving on," said Thriault.

"You can see that in everything that's happening, in all the projectsthat are keeping people busy."