Category Archives: Nursing Home/Senior Living

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Clearfield, IA – Sprinkler system limits spread of nursing home fire;

Residents of a Taylor County nursing home were evacuated after fire broke out early Thursday morning. Firefighters from four area departments responded to the fire at the Clearview Homes at 202 Jefferson Street. Clearfield Assistant Fire Chief Clifford Briggs tells KMA News the fire was reported shortly before 6:15 a.m.

“We’re a rural fire department,” said Briggs. “We already had arrangements made with other surrounding departments to come. Lenox actually made it up here, and had already entered before we got here. At the time they made entry, we had smoke and sprinklers going. It was kind of smoky.”

Up to 40 residents were in the nursing home at the time of the fire. Briggs says the fire was located in a resident’s room inside the facility’s western portion. “All the residents had made it out at this time,” he said. “They made it out prior to us even making entry. They were all safe and across the street at a local funeral home. Once we did an overhaul of the room, we found an area that was on fire. We pulled the ceiling down out of the resident room, and extinguished all flames.”

Briggs credits the home’s sprinkler system for preventing the fire’s spread. Firefighters from Sharpsburg, Diagonal and Lenox assisted Clearfield’s department at the scene. Corning’s department was also on standby. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Briggs says the State Fire Marshal has been notified of the incident.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Fayetteville, AR – Balcony fire at senior apartment complex put out by sprinkler system

A balcony fire ignited at a Fayetteville apartment complex for seniors Tuesday, but it was quickly extinguished.  The fire at Wedington Place Senior Apartments, 3130 Telluride Drive, started just after 1 p.m., however, the building’s sprinkler system activated and put out the flames, according to Dale Riggins, administrative assistant for the Fayetteville Police Department.

No one at the complex was injured or had to be transported to a hospital. However, Central EMS arrived on scene to help bring people down from the second floor with wheelchairs, Riggins said. The top floor sustained smoke and water damage, and as of 2:30 p.m. fire marshals were still at the scene investigating the cause of the fire, Riggins said.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Wheeling, IL – Bedroom fire on 3rd floor of senior housing facility extinguished by sprinklers

Authorities say a sprinkler system helped avert disaster last week when fire broke out in a Wheeling senior housing facility.  Wheeling fire crews were called to the Addolorata Villa Senior Living Community, 557 McHenry Road, about 6:30 p.m. Thursday, in response to the fire.

The first firefighters to arrive found two fire sprinkler heads extinguishing a bedroom fire in a third-floor apartment of the four-story facility.  The resident of the unit was rescued by firefighters and admitted to a hospital for nonlife-threatening injuries, officials said. Firefighters and police evacuated several residents safely.

A Wheeling firefighter was admitted to Glenbrook Hospital in Glenview and kept overnight for observation of medical issues, according to the fire department.  The building where the fire started houses more than 100 residents and is one of four interconnected buildings at the facility, officials said. If not for the sprinkler system, it is likely the fire would have caused fatalities, Fire Chief Keith MacIsaac said in a news release. The cause of the fire is being investigated, but officials do not believe it was suspicious.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential, Residential High Rise

St. Louis, MO – Sprinkler system activates in fire at high rise for the elderly and disabled; No injuries reported

Tense times for residents Thursday morning at a Midtown St. Louis apartment high-rise after a fire temporarily shut down the elevators. The apartments are home to senior citizens and people with disabilities. All three elevators in the building were disabled after a cooking accident. The fire set off the building’s sprinkler system. “When there is a fire, the sprinkler goes off. The sprinkler kicks on and it shuts down the elevator – all elevators,” said Vince Turner.

Those sprinklers sent water into a lot of different areas, including the electrical components of the elevators. The St. Louis Fire Department said the trouble began Wednesday night after Turner, a resident on the 21st floor, burned his dinner. “I was frying some fish in the skillet, then it exploded-boom-big ball of fire and smoke,” he said. The high-rise Council Towers Senior Apartments is home to senior citizens and those with disabilities. After about 12 hours of nonstop work by repair crews, two of the three elevators were back up and running. Although many of the residents struggled to get up and down the stairs, no one was hurt. “I never had to walk this many flights in my life,” said Debora Hall.

Hall, 61, said she walked down 27 flights of stairs. “It was very painful; my whole right side. I have a disc in my neck and my lower back so my whole right side is very weak,” Hall said.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Peterborough, NH – Single sprinkler extinguishes nursing home blaze; No injuries reported

The Peterborough Fire Department said a fire at a nursing home Saturday is a good example of the value of having a working sprinkler system in every building.  Firefighters said they were called to Pheasant Wood Center just before 1 p.m. because the fire alarm was sounding.  Officials said water was runnning out from unde the door to the maintenance room on the firsit floor and smoke could be smelled on the first and second floors. Officials said a single sprinkler head had activated and extinguished the fire.  The fire was caused when an electric fan caught fire and ignited other nearby combustibles.

Thanks to the sprinkler, the fire was contained and none of the residents or the operation of the nursing home were impacted by the fire.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Covington, KY – Sprinkler system activates to tackle fire in mechanical room of senior living building

More than 160 seniors were displaced Thursday when the Golden Tower residential building caught fire.

The fire was contained to the mechanical room in the 11th Street building where something shorted out, reports indicate. The fire triggered the sprinkler system.

The residents of the building, which is operated by the Housing Authority of Covington, were placed in hotels and helped by the Red Cross.

It could be up to five or six days before they are able to return to their homes.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Janesville, WI – Basement fire at residential care facility knocked down with help from sprinkler system

7 residents are displaced by a basement fire at Timber Trail CBRF in Janesville, Wisconsin. The Janesville Fire Department and Janesville Police were called to Timber Trail CBRF around 10:24 p.m. on February 22nd for a basement residential fire. JPD Units were the first to arrive and reported fire and smoke coming from the basement with a person trapped inside. JPD Units began an interior attack and quickly knocked the fire down. The automatic sprinkler system assisted in keeping the fire in-check. JPD Units started a swift primary and secondary search of the building and did not locate a resident. The search for the trapped resident was turned over to the Janesville Police Department.  7 people were displaced by the fire and damage is estimated at $15,000.  The fire is still under investigation.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Chilliwack, BC, Canada – Kitchen fire at assisted living facility extinguished by sprinkler system

There were some nervous moments last night as the Chilliwack Fire Department (CFD) responded to reports of a fire at an assisted living facility on McIntosh Drive.  Neighbours reported on social media on Feb. 21 after 8:30 p.m. some visible smoke at Cascade Manor Assisted Living.  When firefighters from Halls 1 and 4 arrived they found a stovetop fire in the kitchen of a residential unit that had been completely extinguished by the facility’s automatic sprinkler system.

The CFD said the sprinkler system significantly limited fire damage to a small area around the stove and the kitchen cabinets. “Without a working sprinkler system in place, this fire had the potential of causing extensive fire, smoke and water damage to the care facility,” the CFD said in a press release.

There were no civilian or firefighter injuries reported.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by fire officials and is believed to be accidental in nature.

“The Chilliwack Fire Department strongly promotes the installation of automatic fire sprinkler systems in homes. The presence of an automatic fire sprinkler system in conjunction with a working smoke alarm greatly reduces the risk of being injured or dying in a fire.”

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential High Rise

Topeka, KS – Sprinkler system keeps senior high rise fire under control until firefighters arrive

Residents of a west Topeka senior high-rise apartment building were awakened by the sound of smoke alarms early Wednesday after a trash fire inside their building, authorities said.  The residents either made it outside safely or sheltered in place as Topeka Fire Department crews extinguished the blaze.

Authorities said the fire was reported shortly after 12:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Plaza West Apartments, a seven-story building at 5620 S.W. 22nd.  Upon their arrival, firefighters found light smoke on the first-floor of the building.  Crews searched and found a small fire in a trash bin. Officials said the bin was located in the trash room of the complex.

Topeka Fire Department officials said the sprinkler system activated properly and kept the fire under control until firefighters could arrive.  Firefighters then removed the trash bin from the building and finished extinguishing the blaze.

Damage was confined to the trash bin and the surrounding trash-chute system. A Topeka Fire Department investigator responded to the scene to determine the origin and cause of the fire. A preliminary investigation indicated the cause of the fire was undetermined, pending further investigation.

The estimated dollar loss was $500 to the structure. There was no content loss. Three engine companies, two truck Companies, two battalion chiefs and an investigator responded to the incident. No injuries were reported.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Lee’s Summit, MO – Fire at assisted living center contained with help from sprinkler system

On Tuesday, February 13, 2018 at 3:44 p.m., the Lee’s Summit Fire Department responded to a reported structure fire at 3320 NE Wilshire Drive at Cross Creek at Lee’s Summit. Staff reported fire coming from a vent in the ceiling and attempted to extinguish it with a fire extinguisher.  When the fire department arrived, nothing was visible from the outside of a large single-story, assisted living and memory care facility. The eleven residents were accounted for and being evacuated by staff members. Staff also reported the fire may be out, but there was a lot of smoke and water was flowing from the sprinkler system near the fire.

Fire crews entered the building and found moderate smoke conditions in the dining room. Fire doors closed when the fire alarm activated, preventing the spread of smoke throughout the facility. Investigation confirmed the fire was out. The fire involved heating equipment on duct work located above the ceiling. Water from the sprinkler system extinguished the fire. Crews shut down the sprinkler system and assisted with smoke and water removal. The incident was under control by 4:03 p.m.

The fire was contained to the heating unit with minor smoke damage to the dining area, kitchen, and office area. The cause of the fire was determined to be a failure of the heating unit.  The evacuated residents were transported by bus to nearby Wilshire at Lakewood while staff found overnight accommodations at one of their other locations. There were no reported injuries.