Category Archives: Hospital/Care Facility

Adult Care/Rehab Center, Other-Government/Military

South Bend, IN – Sprinkler system activates to help control arson fire at work release detention center

Two men who were inmates at the DuComb Center have been charged with arson for allegedly setting a fire at the center in August.  South Bend Fire responded to a fire at the DuComb Center on W. Lathrop Street on August 17.  Firefighters located the fire in the ceiling of a bathroom at the facility.

The building’s sprinkler system was activated and firefighters reported heavy smoke in the building.  The fire was extinguished by firefighters.  An investigation into the cause of the fire determined someone lit a piece of cloth and placed it above the ceiling tiles.

The damage was estimated at over $100,000.  Surveillance video showed between 11:09 p.m. and 11:35 p.m., inmates Austin Lamberson and Theodore Carney went into the bathroom, stayed for a short time, then walked out, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Investigators said Lamberson was carrying a white cloth when he walked into the bathroom, but was not carrying it when he walked out.  The video also allegedly showed Lamberson carry a blanket into the bathroom, returns saying, “It’s still going, I don’t need to put that up there,” according to the probable cause affidavit.

A short time later, Lamberson returned to the bathroom with the blanket and left without the blanket, according to the probable cause affidavit.  A short time later, an employee discovers the fire in the ceiling.  Lamberson and Carney are each charged with one count of arson.

Adult Care/Rehab Center, Residential

Portland, OR – Fire in residential room at behavior health facility put out by sprinkler system

A fire broke out at a behavioral health facility in southeast Portland early Thursday morning. Portland Fire & Rescue said firefighters were called to the fire that ignited in an apartment unit at Cascadia Behavioral Health, located at 7511 Southeast Henry Street. The small fire was put out by a sprinkler before firefighters arrived to the scene. Firefighters helped evacuate all the occupants of the smoke-filled building and searched for any additional flames.

PF&R said the fire didn’t do much structural damage, and the bit of damage done was contained to the room where the fire started. Two or three people were evaluated for non-life-threatening issues related to smoke, and one patient was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation of smoke inhalation.  PF&R said the water cleanup could take a couple of hours. The cause of the fire wasn’t immediately known.

Child Care Facility

Ridgefield, CT – (No Media Coverage) Fire at child daycare extinguished by sprinkler system

*** NO MEDIA COVERAGE ** A “Sprinkler Saves” blog follower has reported that an activated sprinkler system helped put out a fire at Almost Home Childcare last week in Ridgefield, Connecticut.  No injuries were reported to children or staff.  There was no media coverage of the fire, however, the Almost Home Facebook page includes additional details … https://www.facebook.com/AlmostHomecc/

 

Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic

New Iberia, LA – Late night arson fire at medical center extinguished by sprinkler system

A man has been arrested after, fire marshals say, he intentionally set a fire at Iberia Medical Center early Friday morning. Ruddy Romero, Jr., 25, of New Iberia, allegedly set fire to a hospital blanket on a set of chairs in an Intensive Care Unit waiting room on the second floor. Romero set the fire before leaving the hospital, according to Chief Deputy Brant Thompson. State fire marshal investigators say the fire alarm system activated, hence alerting hospital employees, patients, and visitors. The alarm was immediately followed by the activation of the fire sprinkler system, which quickly extinguished the fire shortly before 1:30 a.m. Romero was later interviewed by investigators and admitted to lighting the blanket on fire, directly threatening more than 100 patients, staff members, and visitors, Thompson says. Romero was arrested on charges of aggravated arson. He is being held in the Iberia Parish jail on a $20,000 bond.

Adult Care/Rehab Center, Hospital/Care Facility, Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Watertown, WI – Sprinkler system halts nursing home fire in wing occupied by many nonambulatory patients

The Watertown Fire Department continues to investigate a structure fire that injured one resident at Dycora Transitional Health on Hospital Drive early Saturday morning. “We’re not exactly sure of the cause of it yet, possibly electrical,” fire Chief Greg Michalek said. “The fire burned the bed with the patient in it and part of the wall.”

Michalek said the blaze was contained to a single room of the 112-bed nursing home, but the wing it is located in also suffered water and smoke damage.

He acknowledged that the casualties could have been much worse if things had transpired differently because many of the residents in the wing could not walk by themselves. Thankfully, firefighters along with a number of police officers and Dycora personnel were able to evacuate the 20 patients in the affected wing.

“Most of the people in that wing were nonambulatory,” Michalek said. “They had to be taken out in wheelchairs. The sprinkler system activated and put the fire out but there was a lot of smoke.”

A call to Dycora’s administrator was not returned before the Daily Times press time this morning.

Child Care Facility, Hospital/Care Facility

Lake Forest, IL – Sprinklers extinguish fire at daycare center before firefighters arrive; All children safely evacuated

A fire that broke out at a Lake Forest day care facility Wednesday was extinguished before fire fighters arrived.

The Lake Forest Fire Department received the alarm around 8:52 a.m. The department said all of the children at the day care had been evacuated to a nearby business. As they traveled to the scene, fire crews were told the sprinkler system had been activated and the smell of smoke was in the air.

When they arrived, firefighters found light smoke conditions in a first floor kitchenette, the department said. Sprinklers had extinguished the fire, which had been contained to a cardboard box.

Crews shut down the sprinkler and performed clean up duties, according to Battalion Chief Mike Gallo.

Adult Care/Rehab Center, Residential

Glendale, WI – Fire at transitional living center suppressed by sprinkler system

This evening at approximately 7:16pm, the Bayside Communications Center received a report from an alarm monitoring company of a fire alarm sounding at Dycora Transitional Living Center, 1616 W. Bender Rd. in Glendale. Within seconds, a 911 call was received reporting a fire on the second floor of the facility. Fire and law enforcement units were dispatched immediately.

Glendale Police Officers were on routine patrol in the general area. Officers reported heavy smoke in one of the wings of the building on the second floor upon their arrival. The affected wing of the building was occupied by 16 patients. Facility staff and police began evacuating residents in the affected area. The first arriving fire company proceeded to the second floor of the facility and began searching for the location of the fire.

Additional arriving fire companies searched the facility for any fire/smoke victims and assisted in extinguishing the fire. A fire was located that was contained to one room of the building. The fire sprinkler system had extinguished a majority of the fire. Firefighters completed extinguishment of the fire and began to remove smoke from the building. Additional paramedic units were called to the scene as a precaution based on the type of facility involved in the incident.  One patient of the facility was evaluated by paramedics but refused transport to the hospital.  Damage to the facility is still being assessed. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Additional injuries to occupants and damage to the facility was prevented by the quick activation of the fire alarm and fire sprinkler system. While the size of the fire was small, the amount of smoke that is produced by a fire creates significant challenges for ensuring the safety of the occupants of buildings. According to a release from the North Shore Fire Department, the importance of maintaining working fire alarm and sprinkler systems in buildings cannot be understated and was demonstrated in this incident.

Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic

Park Ridge, IL – Fire in hospital mechanical room extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries

*** NO MEDIA COVERAGE – Fire Department Reported ***
On May 15, 2017 at 12:31 p.m., the Park Ridge Fire Department was dispatched to 1775 W. Dempster Street, Advocate Lutheran General Hospital (ALGH), for an activated fire alarm. Upon arrival, the Incident Commander was notified by ALGH staff of a reported fire in the basement of the Surgery Building. The Incident Commander upgraded the fire response to a Code 4, which calls for additional resources to be dispatched to the scene. PRFD crews arrived on the scene within four (4) minutes and determined there was a possible fire in the mechanical room located in the lower level. Maintenance staff had gone to investigate the alarm and saw that the room was full of smoke. At that point, they correctly closed the door to limit the spread of smoke and fire and awaited arrival of the Fire Department.  When PRFD crews entered the mechanical room, they saw water flowing from the sprinkler system and the room was charged with smoke. The sprinkler system had extinguished the fire and kept it limited to the room of origin. Crews checked for fire extension in the area and ventilated the smoke out of the building.  No injuries were reported to any ALGH staff, hospital patients, visitors, or fire personnel and all affected areas of the hospital were evacuated safely. Preliminary investigation indicates that the fire was electrical in origin. There is no estimate of damage at this point.

Mutual aid to Park Ridge was received from the following fire departments: Morton Grove, Glenview, Des Plaines, Skokie, and North Maine. Engine and ambulance companies from the Norwood Park, Elk Grove, Rosemont and Wheeling Fire Departments responded to staff the Park Ridge fire stations during this incident to ensure quick response to any other emergency calls while PRFD crews were committed. They responded to one emergency medical call while PRFD crews remained at the ALGH fire. Most of the out of town mutual aid companies were returned by Park Ridge within 45 minutes of the initial alarm to ALGH.

Child Care Facility, Other Business

Murray, UT – Early morning fire at day care facility contained by sprinkler system

It could have been a whole lot worse. That’s what Murray fire investigators are saying about an early morning blaze that burned a detached classroom area at Almost Home Playcare, a children’s daycare facility located at 140 West Winchester Street.  Deputy Chief Jon Harris told Gephardt Daily the fire started in a rubbish collection area outside a converted classroom.  He said a lawnmower was also stored there.  The flames spread quickly, scorching the exterior of the classroom before spreading into the attic.

A sprinkler system did its job, however, not only saving the interior of the classroom, but also preventing the fire from spreading to the rest of the daycare. “If those sprinklers didn’t go off and there was nobody around, this would have been a whole different story,” Deputy Chief Harris said.  Harris also credited the daycare’s alarm service for placing a call to dispatchers, letting them know that fire had broken out.  Harris said investigators had yet to determine the cause of the fire although there were no indications of foul play.

Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic

Cleveland, OH – Sprinkler system assists medical center personnel in controlling early morning arson fire

Quick response by personnel at Tennova Healthcare-Cleveland is being credited with dousing a fire set in the emergency department there early Thursday morning.

Cleveland Fire Department Fire Marshal Ben Atchley said the incident occurred just after 3 a.m. Thursday, when a person at the emergency area of the hospital who was there for a psychological evaluation apparently used a lighter to set his stretcher and clothing atop the stretcher on fire. The 62-year-old male had hidden the lighter, and it was undetected when he was being evaluated, Atchley explained.

“When the fire occurred, the sprinkler system went off, the alarm at the hospital went off and the emergency area was evacuated,” the fire marshal explained. “The emergency area was inundated with water and they closed that area, but the emergency department remained in service.”

The fire department responded, and while personnel at the medical facility put the fire out with a portable fire extinguisher, there was still smoke in that area. Fans were set up by the CFD to remove the smoke. No injuries occurred in the fire, and the man remained in psychiatric care. “I have a warrant for him for aggravated arson once he is released from that care, but do not feel comfortable identifying him until that time,” Atchley said.

Atchley said the quick response by security and hospital personnel prevented the fire from becoming a bigger emergency. “They did a great job, and just clicked into another gear,” the fire marshal said. “We responded to the alarm, but found that they had put the fire out, though we were still there to help with removing the smoke from the area.”

He noted that the hospital had continuous training and drills to respond to such incidents. Stephanie Austin, assistant administrator and marketing at Tennova, said she is proud of the work done by staff at the hospital, and appreciates the response from the Cleveland Fire Department.

“No patients were injured,” she confirmed. “There is no fire damage to the area but water damage from the sprinkler system requires some rooms be closed for a short time to be repaired. “We are focused on ensuring the care of our patients is not interrupted, and thank the fire department and our staff for their fast response,” Austin stated.