Category Archives: Nursing Home/Senior Living

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Mt. Juliet, TN – No injuries in assisted living facility fire contained with help from sprinkler system

An assisted living facility in Mt. Juliet caught fire Friday, forcing residents to evacuate the building. Mt. Juliet Fire Department was called to Mt. Juliet Health Care in the 1600 block of N. Mt.Juliet Rd. around 9 p.m. Friday evening. Firefighters went in and found a room on fire. The firefighters quickly extinguished the fire. After the fire was put out, all residents at the facility were accounted for and no injuries were reported. Fire officials said the sprinkler system in the building was activated and that aided in containing the fire. The fire department said that no residents will be displaced. An investigation into what started the fire is ongoing.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Port Washington, NY – Sprinkler system assists firefighters in extinguishing fire at assisted living facility

A blaring fire alarm on Nov. 13 caused the evacuation of a number of residents from The Amsterdam at Harborside, a retirement community which has approximately 280 residents. According to a statement from Harborside, the alarm, which sounded at the Continuing Care Retirement Community, was activated by smoke in a resident’s apartment.

Harborside said that in addition to the alarm, an internal sprinkler system was activated and the staff responded to the scene, temporarily evacuating residents on two floors of the facility. The statement went on to say that affected residents were taken to an area hospital for evaluation and were subsequently released.

“No one was injured and no one else was taken to the hospital during this incident. As of 7 p.m., Amsterdam at Harborside residents are at dinner and have resumed their normal activities,” the facility said in its statement. “The leadership, staff and residents of the Amsterdam at Harborside are grateful for the rapid and professional response of local first responders.”

But in Harborside’s statement that the Nassau County Fire Marshall is “investigating the cause of the smoke,” Port Washington Fire Department (PWFD) Chief Brain Vogeley feels the retirement community’s officials are not telling the whole truth.

“I understand that the only information that was given to you was from the Amsterdam,” said Vogeley in an emailed statement to the Port Washington News. “We do not understand why they refuse to give the actual truth, but I feel it would be unjust to not give the facts. If you refer to the Facebook page of the Port Washington [Fire Department] you will see the actual account. There was an actual fire on the sixth floor in an apartment. Eleven fire departments along with many other agencies responded to the fire to help the PWFD. The fire was extinguished by fire department personnel while evacuating the entire sixth floor and part of the fifth.

As chief of the PWFD, I feel I would not be doing my job if I did not provide the entire story as these volunteers put their lives on the line to protect this great community and deserve the recognition.”

Following is the Port Washington Fire Department’s full account from Facebook of what occurred at Harborside on Nov. 13:

A fire broke out in a sixth floor apartment at the Amsterdam building at 300 East Overlook.  The Port Washington Fire Department was notified for an automatic waterflow alarm at 4:19 p.m.

Assistant Chief Thomas Golden and Fire Prevention Officer Patrick Saccoccia were the first units on scene. They were met by building maintenance personnel who stated there was smoke condition and possible fire on the sixth floor. Units made their way to the sixth floor and found fire in one apartment. Residents were evacuated from the sixth floor of the complex. The fire was extinguished and one person was transported to a local hospital.

Multiple Port Washington units responded along with mutual aid units from Roslyn Highlands Volunteer Fire Co., Glenwood H and L, E and H, Co., Inc., Manhasset-Lakeville Volunteer Fire Department, Great Neck Vigilant Fire Company, Williston Park Fire Department, Sea Cliff F.D. Engine & Hose Company, Garden City Park Fire Department, Port Washington Police, Nassau County Police, Nassau County Emergency Ambulance Bureau and Nassau County OEM responded to the scene. Mutual aid from Plandome Fire Department, Albertson Fire Company, New Hyde Park Fire Department and East Norwich Fire Department covered the district during the fire and responded to two calls.

The fire is currently under the investigation by the Nassau County Fire Marshals office. All operations were under the direction of Bryan Vogeley, chief of the Port Washington Fire Department.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Granbury, TX – Laundry fire at senior living facility doused by sprinkler system

Automatic fire alarms began going off at around 9:30 p.m. last Sunday at the Lakestone Senior Living facility on Highway 377 in Granbury, according to city of Granbury Public Information Officer Bethany Warner.  The fire started in a dryer in the main laundry, Warner said. The building’s sprinkler system limited the fire to the dryer and there was minimal damage to the laundry room, she said. Residents were let back into the building about 15 to 20 minutes after evacuations began, she said.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Augusta, GA – Sprinkler system keeps grass fire from spreading indoors at assisted living facility

A fire forced the Homestead Assisted Living Center in Augusta to be evacuated. It happened around noon Monday. 

The Augusta Department of  Public Safety told KSN News they determined that the fire began as a grass fire outside the facility.  A sprinkler went off and contained the fire inside the building.

Thirty residents were evacuated by staff for about an hour before they were allowed to return to the facility. No injuries were reported.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Temple, TX – Sprinkler system keeps fire at nursing home from spreading

A sprinkler system kept the flames of a fire that broke out in a bedroom of a local nursing home from spreading, Temple Fire & Rescue spokesman Thomas Pechal said Friday.  Eleven units and 25 firefighters were dispatched just before 5 p.m. Thursday to the Senior Care Center of Marlandwood East at 1511 Marlandwood Rd.

Firefighters found light smoke in a hallway and then discovered heavy black smoke filling the room in which the fire started, Pechal said.  “A small fire was visible on the bed and a sprinkler head flowing water was limiting flame spread,” he said in a press release Friday.

“The fire was quickly extinguished. Firefighters conducted a search of nearby rooms for possible victims and found that residents and staff had safely evacuated,” he said.

Investigators traced the cause of the fire to an electrical outlet with a damaged cover plate.  An electrical short sparked the fire after a metal bed frame came into contact with the damaged cover plate, he said.  No one was hurt.  Damage was estimated at $7,000.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Tomah, WI – Fire at assisted-living facility put out with help from sprinkler system

Thirteen people were displaced after a fire damaged an assisted-living facility in Tomah.  The Tomah Fire Department was dispatched shortly before 7 p.m. to Cranberry Country assisted living facility, where staff was evacuating the building upon arrival of firefighters. No injuries were reported. Tomah Fire Chief Tim Adler said there was heavy smoke throughout the building and that entry was made with a hand line to extinguish the blaze. 

Adler said the fire was located inside of one of the bedrooms and that the building’s sprinkler system was activated due to the temperature of the fire. He said the fire was contained to the bedroom. The building’s owner, Krista Witt, said the fire likely was started by an electric appliance − “something somebody plugged in,” she said.

The building sustained heavy smoke and water damage, but Witt hopes to bring residents back into the rooms within a week. She said two residents are staying with family members, two more were moved to empty rooms in a part of the facility that wasn’t damaged, and others are staying in nearby assisted living centers.

She said staff members got everyone out of the building quickly and that other employees who weren’t scheduled to work dropped what they were doing to help.

“The staff worked their butts off,” Witt said. “This is the first time I realized, wow, there are some really good people who work here.”

Adler said 20 firefighters were on the scene for 2½ hours.

“The fire department was awesome,” Witt said. “The whole community stepped up. It was, ‘What can I do to help?’”

Assisting the fire department were Fort McCoy Ambulance Service and Monroe County 911 Communication Center.

Adler said the cause of the fire remains under investigation. It marked the second time in four days the department was called to a structure fire. A structure on Jefferson Street was left uninhabitable Friday after a fire started in a garage.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Glendale, WI – Sprinkler system controls fire at apartments with many elderly and disabled residents

North Shore Fire and Rescue responded to the Parkside Commons Apartments, 1400 W. Custer Ave., for a report of a fire on the second floor of the building.The first arriving fire company reported an active evacuation in progress with residents reporting moderate smoke conditions on the second floor. Crews located a fire in an apartment on the second floor. There was heavy smoke and crews encountered several residents requiring assistance with evacuation.

The fire was quickly brought under control by crews. Much of the fire had already been put out by the fire sprinkler system within the structure.  There were no injuries reported.

The fire was contained to a small area within a second-floor apartment, however, the activation of the sprinkler system caused extensive water damage within the unit, as well as to the unit adjacent and a common space on the first floor. There was also moderate smoke damage to some of the common hallways in the building. Preliminary estimates indicate that the damage to the structure and contents is approximately $33,000.

According to North Shore Fire, the building is home to many elderly and disabled residents, who were able to quickly and safely evacuate thanks to the quick action of building management.  Additionally, building personnel was able to provide quick and accurate accountability information so that firefighters could focus on assisting those who were unable to evacuate under their own power.  The exact cause of the fire remains under investigation but is not believed to be suspicious.

North Shore Fire/Rescue is being assisted by the Glendale Police Department in the investigation.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Eureka, CA – Overnight laundry fire at nursing home extinguished by sprinkler system

The following is a news release from Humboldt Bay Fire:  At 12:40 a.m. this morning, Humboldt Bay Fire responded to a reported fire alarm at Granada Rehabilitation and Wellness Center at 2885 Harris Street. While the two initial fire units and duty officer were responding, Humboldt Bay Fire’s Dispatch Center received additional information from staff that there was a fire in the facility. The incident was immediately upgraded to a full structure fire response, including two additional fire units from Humboldt Bay Fire and a unit from Arcata Fire to aid in coverage of other areas of the jurisdiction.

The first in fire engine found that there was a fire in a laundry room in the rear of the facility. The fire sprinkler system had activated and extinguished the fire in the room, limiting the damage to a table, wall, and ceiling above the area. Fire doors had activated and closed, separating the patients from the fire area.

Facility staff immediately evacuated patients to other sections of the building away from the fire area. By the time additional fire units arrived, facility staff had completed the evacuation. Fire personnel remained on scene for two hours to ensure the fire was completely extinguished and to aid in water removal from the areas impacted by the sprinkler activation.

The fire suppression system, quick actions of facility staff, and early notification helped to minimize damage to the facility and undoubtedly kept the patients from being injured. Patients impacted by the incident were moved to other rooms within the facility. The cause of the fire was due to cleaning rags that had been removed from a dryer without having sufficient time to cool. Humboldt Bay Fire encourages everyone to allow fabrics in dryers to go through the cool down phase of the drying process and to not place them in piles until they have cooled.

 

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Cedar Rapids, IA – No injuries after sprinkler system puts out nursing home laundry fire

A fire in the laundry room of a Cedar Rapids nursing home was quickly extinguished Saturday night.The fire was reported at 10:37 p.m. at Living Center East, 1220 Fifth Ave. SE. When fire crews arrived, they found the building’s sprinkler system already had extinguished a fire in a basket in the laundry room. Firefighters determined the fire had not spread beyond the laundry basket and turned off the sprinkler system.  No one was hurt and no residents were displaced, fire officials said.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Port Orchard, WA – Sprinkler head extinguishes fire in retirement community

A fire in a basket filled with oily rags in a downstairs laundry room at Park Vista Retirement Community Sept. 28 was extinguished by South Kitsap Fire and Rescue firefighters.

SKFR dispatched 16 apparatus and support vehicles to the Port Orchard retirement community at 2944 SE Lund Ave. An additional engine responded from Bremerton Fire Department.

As firefighters opened the door to the laundry room, they noticed smoke in the room, Assistant Chief Jeff Faucett said. One sprinkler head had been activated by heat from the fire, he added. Additional crews arriving were able to assist Park Vista’s staff in moving residents to a safe location in the building.

“Once the rags ignited, the fire traveled up a wall and extended to cabinets above the basket,” Faucett said. “The flames generated enough heat to activate the sprinkler head, which extinguished the fire.”

Deputy Fire Marshal Brad Wiggins said the fire could have been much worse. “Given the time of night, the number of residents and the fact that many of them need assistance moving around, things could have been worse,” Wiggins said. “The sprinkler system, the fire alarm system and Park Vista staff did their job and that is the reason for the positive outcome.”

The fire was caused by a chemical reaction from oily rags piled in a basket, Faucett said. The rags had been used to clean ovens and were soaked in grease. He said it is common for fabric material that has been soaked in oil to have a chemical reaction that will heat up to the point of ignition.

Giving oily rags a run-through in a washing machine typically won’t remove the oils, he noted.

Fire department officials said the fire was the second this year that SKFR has responded to where a single sprinkler has saved a commercial structure from fire loss.