6:50 p.m. Sunday update
A spokesperson for Extendicare, which owns the F.J. Davey home, said in an email the issue causing the loss of heat was fixed as of this afternoon.
"On December 21, we noticed temperatures in parts of the home were lower than expected. We immediately contacted our maintenance partner who arrived by 9 a.m. to identity and address the issue. An individual component of the air exchange system on the first floor was not functioning properly and required a replacement part," said Owen Saull, spokesperson for Extendicare.
"The heat source for the home was not fully lost, however the air exchanger was bringing in untempered air. At no time did the building lose its capacity to provide heat, and as of this afternoon the issue had been resolved."
"During the repair, we took a number of steps to ensure residents were comfortable, including hourly temperature checks in all rooms, bringing in additional blankets and portable heaters to support residents impacted by the colder temperatures, closely monitoring all residents in rooms impacted, and temporarily relocating a small number of impacted residents."
"We apologize for the inconvenience and discomfort experienced during these repairs and thank our residents and family members for their understanding."
Saull did not immediately answer follow up questions about how low the temperature went and whether the Ministry of Long Term Care was contacted.
According to regulations by the Ministry of Long-Term Care, the air temperature of a long-term care home must not fall below 22 degrees C at any time of the year.
SooToday will follow up with the ministry on Monday.
Original story below:
Family members who have loved ones living in the F.J. Davey Home on Third Line are concerned that some residents have been without heat since Saturday morning.
SooToday received a number of news tips that the heat went out on all three floors of the Birch Wing of the building in the early morning hours Saturday.
"The issue started early in the morning of December 21 as the motor fan on the roof that blows the heat blew," said one person who contacted SooToday anonymously.
The F.J. Davey Home is a 374-bed long-term care nursing home managed by Extendicare, which owns 122 long-term care homes across Canada.
A call to the home's administrator Connie Lee did not result in any answers about the circumstances surrounding the loss of heat at the nursing home.
"I don't have any comment at this time," Lee said by telephone on Sunday. "I would have to get the communications department to reach out to you."
The news tips sent to SooToday about the situation were left anonymously due to fear of retaliation against residents.
"Residents continue to be cold, on the coldest days of the year. There were minimal supplies of blankets and space heaters for the residents," said one person who reached out to SooToday for help. "I am concerned as my family member is wearing their hat and mittens to bed. This is neglect for the residents."
In a separate phone message, another concerned family member said they don't believe the appropriate amount of attention is being directed by management to fix the problem.
"It seems like management at the Davey Home is not taking care of this or not being worried about it as our loved ones are freezing," the tipster said.
SooToday has reached out to the F.J. Davey Family Council for more information and is awaiting comment from the Extendicare communications department. We will update the story as more details become available.