Category Archives: Nursing Home/Senior Living

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Gibsons, BC, Canada – Early morning fire at assisted living complex doused by sprinkler system

Eighty-five residents of Christenson Village in Gibsons had to be evacuated early Saturday morning after a fire in one of the units.

The Gibsons and District Fire Department said a toaster was left on a stove top, which was accidentally turned on. Fire officials said the building’s sprinkler system kicked in and quickly doused the fire.

Julie Williams of the Good Samaritan Society, which runs Christenson Village, said the damage is still being assessed and they can’t say when the person who lives in the unit where the fire broke out will be able to return.

Williams adds that the Society is thankful for the quick actions of its staff and the local fire department in dealing with the incident.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Somers, CT – Sprinkler system limits spread of fire at senior housing complex

Five occupants were injured early Sunday morning as a result of a fire that broke out in a woman’s apartment at the Woodcrest Senior Housing complex at 75 Battle St., a fire official said.

The fire was contained to the living room of a second-floor apartment, Fire Chief John Roache said today. The elderly woman who lived in the apartment was rescued by firefighters and bystanders and taken to Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford, he said.

Another elderly woman from a different apartment suffered minor back injuries during the evacuation of the building and was transported to Johnson Memorial Hospital, Roache said.

Both women have been released from the hospital, he said. Three additional occupants suffered smoke inhalation but refused to be taken to the hospital and were treated at the scene, he said.

The Fire Department responded to an automatic fire alarm at the apartment complex just after 1 a.m. Sunday, Roache said. Firefighters extinguished the fire “in seconds” and the building’s sprinkler system was instrumental in keeping the situation from escalating, he said.

“Smoke detectors and automatic sprinklers stopped this from being much worse,” Roache said.

He said a lamp cord that ran along a couch in the living room of the apartment where the fire started appears to have caused the blaze. The cord had likely sustained damage over time due to being placed in the couch’s reclining section, Roache said. This damage appears to have caused a short, he added.

The tenant of the apartment where the fire started is currently staying with family members while her residence is repaired, Roache said. He did not have the names of those who were injured.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Santa Cruz, CA – Laundry room fire at assisted living center held in check by sprinkler system

Residents of Paradise Villa Assisted Living on 17th Avenue were evacuated Monday morning after a fire broke out in a laundry room.  No one was injured, said Central Fire Battalion Chief Jeff Breasher.

The blaze started about 9:55 a.m. at the two-story complex at 2177 17th Ave. in Live Oak. Residents were evacuated as thick smoke spread from a laundry room, Breasher said. Firefighters found a clothes dryer on fire.

“The automatic fire sprinkler system activated and held the fire in check until the firefighters could finish extinguishing the flames,” Breasher said.  It took about 15 minutes to contain the blaze and 30 minutes to fully control it, Breasher said.

Members of the American Red Cross of the Central Coast provided shade tents and drinking water to 23 residents and nine employees who were evacuated, Breasher said. Firefighters removed smoke and water from the building and residents were allowed to return.

Firefighters continued to investigate the exact cause of the fire on Tuesday.  Santa Cruz Fire, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office, American Medical Response, California Highway Patrol and PG&E also responded.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Arcola, IL – Fire at senior living facility contained to one room by sprinkler system

In a fire minutes count. Practice and training pay off. On Saturday morning at about 1:30am staff at Carriage Crossing in the Green Mill Village development in Arcola noticed smoke.  Within moments are fire sprinkler was activated and staff at the assisted living facility began evacuating residents near the area of the fire.  With the help of firefighters all 46 residents were removed from the building.

“Those individuals and those residents were out within seven minutes. So the training paid off.  Everyone stayed very calm,” Cassie Yoder of Green Mill Village told WAND’s Doug Wolfe.  “Residents were with the people they knew.”

Residents are now housed in the adjoining Best Western Plus which is a sister property to Carriage Crossing. Residents and staff have settled in to a normal routine. On Monday, clean-up was underway.

“Most of the damage is just from the sprinkler system and water damage,” said co-owner Jeff Bentley. “It’s contained to one room and at this point we don’t know what caused it yet.”

Bentley says his company has constructed a new facility in Champaign that is similar to the one in Arcola. His staff is attempting to get state licensing to speed up so some of the residents can be moved to Champaign.

The state fire marshal’s office was at Carriage Crossing on Monday attempting to determine a cause of the fire.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Peoria, IL – Fire at senior living center controlled by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Peoria Fire officials are investigating a blaze that broke out Thursday at Courtyard Estates at 1117 N. Western Ave. There was a reported explosion from one of the apartments, however officials cannot determine if there actually was one. Fire crews discovered the blaze in an apartment on the fourth floor where they found an air conditioning unit that appeared to have an electrical issue and caught fire. The complex’s sprinkler system activated, according to Battalion Chief Aldo Scott. A fire investigator was called to the scene to determine an official cause. No injuries were reported.

Apartment Building, Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Battle Creek, MI – Kitchen fire at senior apartment complex controlled with help from sprinkler system

NORTH POINTE WOODS FIRE: Damage was estimated at $20,000 after a fire at North Pointe Woods at 700 North Ave. Battle Creek firefighters were called at 6:43 a.m. Monday, the city reported in a news release on Thursday. Firefighters said the fire began on the stove when a stove burner was left on. The fire activated the sprinkler system. A second-floor apartment was damaged with smoke and water and a first floor apartment below had water damage. A hallway on the first floor also filled with water. Residents remained in their apartments as firefighters used ventilators to remove smoke from the hallways.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Pensacola, FL – Fire at senior apartment building contained with help from sprinkler system

Nearly 100 residents of a senior living complex in Ensley had to be evacuated because of an apartment fire Thursday morning.

Around 11:26 a.m., Escambia County received a 911 call reporting smoke and flames visible at the Johnson Lakes Apartments in the 1400 Block of East Johnson Avenue. Responding firefighters were able to contain and extinguish the fire quickly, but the blistering heat outside created a whole new set of problems.

The National Weather Service reported heat index values of more than 100 degrees Thursday. Residents of the four-story, 160-unit apartment complex had to be loaded onto air-conditioned Escambia County Area Transit buses while firefighters checked every apartment for damage or stragglers.

All told, two people were transported to West Florida Hospital (for heat exhaustion and breathing difficulties respectively), at least four people were displaced, 88 people were evaluated and temporarily placed on buses, and six people were found sheltering inside the building, according to county officials.

“The fire itself was relatively minor in nature, but the pure size of the building is a bit of a challenge,” said Deputy Fire Chief Paul Williams. “We had to ensure residents were evacuated or sheltered in a safe portion of the building.”

Williams said firefighters also had to assist some residents out of the building because of their limited mobility.

In the parking lot outside, people clustered together in small patches of shade along a low-stone wall. Several sat in wheelchairs, leaned on walkers or pulled oxygen tanks behind them as they waited for ECAT buses to arrive.

A team of Red Cross workers handed out bottles of water to tenants and firefighters, urging apartment residents to hurry into the air-conditioned buses as they became available.

Though most praised the response of the rescue personnel, a few grumbled about the high temperatures outside.

“It’s hotter out here than it was in there,” one person remarked.

Escambia County Fire Rescue personnel from all over the area responded, and they were backed up by crews from Pensacola, the U.S. Navy, Pace and Avalon. Once the fire was under control, they set about the arduous business checking the status of every apartment.

The fire originated in an apartment on the second floor, activating a sprinkler in the apartment, officials said. Williams said the State Fire Marshal’s Office is working to determine the cause.

Jessie Brown, who lives on the second floor, said he never saw flames, but was alerted to the fire by the hubbub out in the hallway. Waiting outside, he said he was worried about what the water had done to his belongings.

I dread going back in there now and looking at my apartment,” Brown said.

Williams said Thursday evening that officials believed most residents would be able to return to their homes that night. He also said approximately four units were temporarily uninhabitable, but that occupants could potentially be housed elsewhere in the complex until repairs were complete.

Jerry Kindle, CEO of the American Red Cross of Northwest Florida, said Thursday evening the organization assisted 30 people from 29 units with clothing, lodging, food or other needs. He credited the organization’s volunteers for coming together so quickly in a time of need.

“The Gulf Coast is a giving community,” Kindle said. “The total number of staff that showed up was two people, the rest were all volunteers.”

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Prescott, AZ – Sprinkler system extinguishes fire at senior living facility; Fire started in fan motor

… the second fire of the day (Friday) occurred shortly before 6pm when residents of the Casa De Pinos senior living facility on Cory Avenue reported activated fire alarms in the building and smoke coming from a third floor apartment. The building poses challenges to firefighters due to its limited access and the lack of a standpipe water system in the stairwell.

The first arriving engine company had to lower hose from a third story window back to the engine so it could pump the hose line. Prescott police officers engaged in trying to evacuate roughly thirty residents, some of which have physical limitations. When firefighters made entry into the apartment they found that the building’s sprinkler system had already extinguished the fire and they immediately shut down the sprinkler system so as to limit water damage to the building

Investigation determined that a portable oscillating fan’s motor had caused the fire while the tenant was out of his apartment. The City’s Building Department deemed six rooms uninhabitable, two on each floor, due to the movement of water through the building. An outside contractor was contacted to start the process of mitigating the water damage. The remaining residents were allowed to return to their apartments roughly an hour later. Arrangements were being made to house the six displaced residents.

 

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Newark, NY – Nursing home fire doused by sprinkler system

A sprinkler system is being credited with preventing a potentially large fire last Thursday evening at the Newark Manor Nursing Home on West Pearl Street.

Dick Colacino, the Newark Volunteer Fire Department’s public information officer, said firefighters responded to the site following an automatic box alarm and calls to 911. Assistant Chief Kevin Velte, who was first on the scene, reported smoke in the building and Chief Gerald VanDewalle called for mutual aid from Fairville and Lyons to assist with possible evacuation.

The cause was determined to be a portable air conditioner that caught fire. The blaze was doused by a sprinkler in a data closet housing the nursing home computers, preventing more extensive damage.

VanDewalle said a combination of the automatic smoke and fire alarm system, and a working sprinkler, prevented a much more serious incident. There was fire and smoke damage in the data room, as well as damage to computers and other equipment.

VanDewalle commended nursing home staff, firefighters, Newark police and EMS personnel for evacuating and isolating residents. Thirty-five firefighters were at the scene for more than two hours, clearing smoke from the building with fans.

Colacino said the working sprinkler system is a testament of their value, and firefighters are disappointed that the state Legislature has not passed a fire sprinkler law for all new one- and two-family homes.

 

Adult Care/Rehab Center, Nursing Home/Senior Living

Northampton, MA – Electrical fire at nursing home contained by sprinkler system

An electrical fire forced several elderly residents to temporarily evacuate from the CareOne Nursing-Rehab Center in Northampton early Saturday morning.

Mark Spees told 22News his wife lives there. He said he rushed to her side as soon as he heard what had happened. “Got up this morning got a cup of coffee, turned on the news… the coffee’s still on the table because I just started moving,” he said.

When Spees got to the CareOne Nursing-Rehab Center, he was relieved to find out his wife was safe and sound. “Unbelievable, you know, all I could think was what’s happening? What’s going on? How’s my wife? When you’ve been married for 43 years you tend to worry,” he said.

Northampton Deputy Fire Chief Timothy McQueston told 22News an air conditioning unit plugged into an outlet on the third floor sparked the fire. Fortunately, the building’s sprinkler system helped keep the fire from spreading, and no one was seriously hurt.

Later that morning, crews were still cleaning up pieces of shard glass where firefighters had to bust open a window to rescue a woman trapped inside. She was one of three people taken to the hospital by ambulance, as the building’s staff ushered the other residents to safety.

At least 30 people on the third floor of the building had to be moved to other locations temporarily because of the damage.

The experience highlighted a fear that many children, husbands, and wives have as their family members get older and require extra care.

Leann Worsnop of Easthampton told 22News it’s hard not to worry about your parents when they no longer live under your care. “It’s as if it was your own child, the same thing, the same feelings, just you know, what can you do? It’s a feeling of helplessness, and then the whole fear of what actually happened,” she said.

The three residents who went to the hospital are expected to be ok. No one was else was injured.