116 residents evacuated from long-term care home over 12 hours in Mississauga

More than 110 residents of an east Mississauga long-term care home who were evacuated from their flooded building late Tuesday have been moved to four safe locations and are being tended to by members of several community organizations.

Evacuation of the 116 residents of Tyndall Seniors Village began shortly after Tuesday morning’s torrential rain that hit Mississauga and the GTA caused a section of Etobicoke Creek to the immediate east of the Tomken Road/Eglinton Avenue building to overflow its banks.

Water quickly rushed into the long-term care home, flooding the first floor and prompting Mississauga firefighters to begin an evacuation of residents that would last about 12 hours.

Peel paramedics were also quickly on the scene to tend to residents.

“The creek beside the nursing home overflowed, causing extensive flooding,” Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services officials said in a post to X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday afternoon.

In the ensuing hours, dozens after dozens of residents were taken to safety by firefighters using rescue boats/dinghies to get to the flooded building.

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The scene early Tuesday afternoon at Tyndall Seniors Village in Mississauga’s east end shortly after the nearby Etobicoke Creek overflowed its banks and flooded the building and its parking lot. (Photo: Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services)

Mississauga Fire Captain Dan Herd said the evacuation also involved pumping out thousands of litres of water that had overflown from the nearby creek into the first floor of the building and its parking lot.

Herd added residents who were unable to walk were carried down the stairs from the upper floors, with the assistance of first responders and lifting equipment.

Peel Region Paramedics’ acting Deputy Chief Tom Kukolic said the 116 residents were relocated to two long-term care homes and two hotels, and none of them required emergency treatment.

He noted the evacuation was laborious, but proceeded without injuries thanks to the collaboration of several emergency response teams, including York Region and Toronto paramedics.

Evacuated residents provided food, other necessities

Meanwhile, Mississauga firefighters said via social media they partnered with Food Banks Mississauga and Etobicoke-based humanitarian relief organization Global Medic to provide follow-up care for the displaced residents. Global Medic provides disaster relief both in Canada and around the world.

Fire officials said the groups joined forces to distribute hygiene kits, food and other necessary items to the residents at the four relocation sites.

“We also delivered food and hygiene items to St. Philip Neri’s Table (in Toronto),” which lost food bank products to flood damage as well, a Global Medic spokesperson said.

Mississauga Ward 3 Coun. Chris Fonseca, in whose area the long-term care home is located, thanked emergency crews for their efforts in responding to the flooded building.

“Your tireless work to ensure everyone’s safety and comfort is recognized. Making this a top priority ensured that all the residents were able to navigate this difficult situation with ease,” the councillor commented in response to a social media post from Mississauga fire officials.

The flooding of the long-term care home was one of numerous calls responded to on Tuesday by firefighters, Peel Regional Police and Peel Paramedics as torrential rain that pummelled the city and GTA led to dozens of dangerous situations on roads, highways and in homes and buildings.

Tuesday’s storm caused chaos in Mississauga, Brampton and across Toronto and surrounding communities, with massive flooding shutting down several major highways and roads and knocking out power to thousands of homes and businesses.

At one point Tuesday afternoon, Mississauga firefighters said all of their rescue crews had been deployed to areas across the city to help people in need.

— With files from The Canadian Press