Sandy Roberts of the Fire Department said firefighters were initially called to the facility, at 2445 Geary St. SE, by an automated alarm. However, staff at the facility thought it was a false alarm and called the department and told them to disregard the call, she said.
Staff eventually realized there was a fire and called the department again. The fire crews were called out for a structure fire at 10:36 p.m. Roberts said the building was equipped with sprinklers, which activated and extinguished the fire.
“It’s an excellent case showing why sprinkler systems are incredibly useful,” she said.
Roberts said the fire appears to have been started by a nightlight that fell onto a resident’s bed. The department is treating it as an accidental fire.
Albany fire personnel evaluated the resident in the unit that caught fire, but did not transport the resident to a hospital. The resident was not displaced by the fire, she said.
Roberts added that no fire personnel were injured by the fire, but a wing of the facility suffered extensive smoke and water damage.
She added that in cases of fire alarm activation, the safest option is to let firefighters come and make sure there is no fire.
“The best rule of thumb is to let us come when you have a fire alarm,” she said.
