Category Archives: Nursing Home/Senior Living

Apartment Building, Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Porterville, CA – Patio fire at senior apartment complex held in check by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Fire sprinklers on the patio of an apartment at Santa Fe Plaza, a housing complex on North Third Street in Porterville, prevented a fire from spreading Friday afternoon. “This is one of the places we’re always concerned about because of the number of residents,” said City Fire Battalion Chief Glen Hall.

The fire began on the patio of a first-floor apartment, but was contained by the overhead sprinklers. “The fire was held in check by the sprinkler system,” said Hall, adding that it appeared to be contained to a box on the patio and the structure was not burned at all.  Also, the sprinkler only activated on the patio, so there was no water damage to the apartment or any other part of the complex.

However, smoke filled the first floor of the north wing of the complex and the alarm sent more than a dozen residents outside. “I saw smoke billowing … and I grabbed my cat and split,” said resident Sharon Ritchie, who stood outside with several other residents as firefighters inspected the building and worked to clear the smoke.

“I heard the alarm go off and the hallway was full of smoke,” added Norma Fox who lives jus a few doors down from where the fire stated. The fire was reported at about 1:50 p.m. and the city had a full response with five engines, including a ladder truck, and one engine from the county. More than a dozen firefighters were joined by two Porterville police officers who assisted residents out of the smoke-filled complex. One lady in a motorized chair waited outside until a firefighter brought her dog to her. Seeing her dog brought a big smile to her face.

Medical personnel were called to the scene to check out the residents, but no one was injured or sickened by the smoke. One lady said she was winded after walking down three flights of stairs. Hall said the fire was still smoldering when firefighters arrived and they extinguished it at that time. He said there are 105 apartments in the complex, but only the north wing was affected by the fire.

The residents, including the one who lived in the apartment where the fire occurred, were allowed to return to their apartments after about 45 minutes outside. The cause of the fire is under investigation

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Carthage, NC – Sprinklers help confine laundry fire at nursing home

The Aberdeen Times reported that a fire broke out in the laundry room at Tara Plantation at 820 South McNeill Street in Carthage around 9:15 p.m. The fire forced the facility to evacuate.

Once the fire was put out, crews helped with returning the resident back inside.

Carthage Fire Chief Brian Tyner told The Aberdeen Times that the sprinkler system worked, helping to confine the fire to the laundry room.

The newspaper reported that two residents were taken to FirstHealth Hospital in Pinehurst with non-life threatening injuries.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Nursing Home/Senior Living

Boca Raton, FL – Cafeteria kitchen fire at assisted living facility extinguished by sprinkler system

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An early morning grease fire was extinguished by a kitchen sprinkler system at Stratford Court, a Senior Assisted living facility in suburban Boca Raton. The facility is located just south of Southwest 18th street and west of Military Trail. Emergency workers tell us a grease fire started in the cafeteria’s kitchen and they don’t know it began. No damage, injuries or evacuations.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Leipsic, OH – Nursing home fire kept in check by sprinkler system

Putnam County Sheriff’s Office says at 12:48 Wednesday morning it received a 911 call about a fire at the Meadows of Leipsic nursing home on E. Main Street.

The Leipsic Fire Department says when firefighters arrived on the scene they noticed heavy smoke coming from inside the building. They say the fire started in one room and a sprinkler system kept the fire from spreading.

Two residents were taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation, but are expected to survive.

A cause has yet to be determined.

The fire has been reported to the Ohio State Fire Marshall’s Office.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Brick, NJ – Single sprinkler head contains laundry fire at nursing home

Laundry ignited inside a nursing home early Wednesday morning, but one sprinkler kept the fire from spreading, Brick Fire Safety Chief Kevin Batzel said.

Brick police and firefighters were called to the Meridian Nursing and Rehabilitation center on Jack Martin Boulevard at 4:40 a.m. where they found smoke in the facility’s basement, Batzel said.

The fire was inside a large, industrial-sized laundry cart filled with towels that had been pulled from a dryer, he said.

“It was being contained by a single fire sprinkler head, which had activated and caused an alarm in the building,” the fire safety chief said. “What could have been a potential catastrophe was prevented.”

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Southport, NC – Sprinklers contain fire to laundry room at assisted living facility; No injuries reported

Residents of Southport’s Carillon Assisted Living are back in the facility after a fire damaged part of the building Thursday. The fire was reported just after 6 p.m. at the facility at 1125 E. Leonard St. All 48 residents were safely evacuated but had to take temporary shelter at a county senior citizens center for part of the night.

On Friday, Brunswick County Emergency Services director Scott Garner said residents were able to return to the building after a few hours. “We got them all back in after midnight,” he said.

The fire was contained to a laundry room, but sprinkler systems caused water damage in a residential wing. “There was enough empty beds in the B, C and D wings that they were able to relocate the patients,” Garner said. “They’re all back, no injuries, and everybody worked together well.”

Apartment Building, Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Lancaster, OH – Sprinkler system helps contain overnight fire at senior apartment complex; No injuries

A 36-unit apartment complex had to be evacuated Sunday morning after a fire started on the second story of the three-story building. Lancaster firefighter Pete Anson says the call came in just after 1:00 a.m. Sunday at the Canal Place Senior Apartments. The fire department was notified after the smoke alarm and sprinkler systems were activated. Anson says crews arrived on scene in four minutes.

“We had a lot of elderly patients on the second and third floors,” he said. Residents in the complex were already trying to get out as smoke started to fill the second floor hallway. Because the elevator went out, it wasn’t easy for many wheelchair dependent tenants.

“On our way in we did encounter a female in the stairwell dragging her wheelchair down,” he said.

The firefighter says he and his team began getting people outside and, in some cases, literally carried those who couldn’t walk.

“It was difficult and challenging to get 30, 40 [people] out at one time,” he said. “But the guys last night worked really hard and were able to get everybody out.”

Anson says the fire started on the second floor. An apartment manager would not let 10TV cameras inside to see the damaged area, but Anson says a charred couch that now sits outside the building came from the room where it all started.

Cleanup crews were at the building Sunday trying to dry the water-soaked floors. Also, the America Red Cross Ohio Buckeye Region says three families were assisted and received immediate emergency lodging.

According to the building manager and firefighters, no one in the building was injured. Anson says the cause of the fire is under investigation. Fire Chief David Ward tells 10TV at last check the Canal Place Senior Apartments did meet fire code.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Perryville, MD – Sprinklers credited with quelling blaze in senior community building

Investigators are crediting a residential sprinkler system for quickly extinguishing a kitchen fire inside one of the 92 units at a four-story senior community building in Perryville on Monday morning, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office.

Fire officials also reported that one person, who they identified as Jeffrey Coudon, required medical treatment after suffering “minor smoke inhalation.”

The blaze started about 5:30 a.m. in the kitchen of a one-bedroom apartment on the third-floor of the Fairgreen Senior Community in the 100 block of Greenway, fire officials said. Investigators blamed the blaze on “unattended cooking on the stove,” fire officials added.

“The fire was quickly extinguished by the residential fire sprinkler system, effectively protecting the lives of occupants in the building. Water damage was sustained to the first and second floors, as result of the activation,” said Deputy State Fire Marshal Joseph Walters, lead investigator.

About 15 firefighters with volunteer fire companies from Perryville and Perry Point brought the small fire under control in approximately 1 minute, having received advance help from the sprinkler system, fire officials reported.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Williamson, WV – No injuries in overnight nursing home fire controlled with help from sprinkler system

The Williamson Fire Department (WPD) responded to an emergency call at Trinity Health Care in East Williamson after a faulty wire in a heating unit triggered an alarm.  The cause of the problem was revealed to be in one of the heating units.  A wire had melted and caused the unit to over-heat, according to the WFD report.

The call came in around 2:00 a.m. Lt. Stephen Casey of the Williamson Fire Department was assisted by the Williamson Police Department (WPD), the Chattaroy Volunteer Fire Department (CVFD) and Elite Ambulance service.  Williamson Fire Chief Joey Carey said, “The staff worked along with us to make ensure the residents safety. They had an emergency plan in place and they did a good job following procedure.”

Upon arrival, firefighters noticed minor smoke. A quick investigation revealed no fire but the smell of heated electrical equipment indicated the source of the problem, according to WFD Chief Joey Carey.  Firefighters ventilated the area. The WPD, CVFD firefighters, and Trinity Health Care staff worked together to evacuate residence to a safe area.

No medical incidents were reported and residents were moved back to their rooms within 45 minutes, according to Carey. “It could have been a lot worse,” Carey said. He credited the fire walls and sprinkler system in the attic of the facility with keeping the structure and residents within safe. The firewalls separate sections in the building and isolate any potential problems, according to Carey.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Biloxi, MS – Fire at assisted living facility held in check by sprinkler system; No injuries

The grounds surrounding the Pillars were filled with emergency vehicles and crews throughout the morning on Wednesday, after flames forced residents and staff at the Pillars Medical Residences in Biloxi to evacuate.

Fire Chief, Joe Boney says the fire wasn’t as involved as others he’s seen, but it was still a dangerous situation. “Anytime you have a fire like this, it doesn’t take a lot of fire. The smoke is what gets people. Especially when you have many residents in a close area like this,” said Boney.

Chief Boney says the sprinkler system also did its job. “It did stop the fire. It held the fire until we could get to it to put it out,” said Boney.

According to Boney, only one staff member had to be treated for smoke inhalation, and no residents were injured. The staff at the facility had already started the evacuations when the fire department arrived.

“They did exactly what they were supposed to do, they made sure their residents were safe,” said Rhonda Nettles, administrator of a sister facility to the Pillars.

According to Nettles, the staff members practice several fire drills a month to make sure they are prepared for any incident. Since the fire was contained to one room, the residents were simply moved to a safer area of the building.

In addition to the building’s safety features, all agencies involved were on top of their game. AMR operations manager, Gregory Doyle, says that teamwork is a product of proper training.

“When you train all the time together. Go to the same meetings, go to the same planning sessions, it helps out a lot,” said Doyle. Although one wing of the facility had a bit of water damage, officials hoped to have the residents back to their rooms by the end of the day.