Category Archives: Nursing Home/Senior Living

Apartment Building, Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Danville, VA – Sprinkler systems assists firefighters in extinguishing senior apartment blaze

The Danville Fire Department stopped an apartment fire on Monday afternoon.  Crews arrived at 2:06 p.m. to 601 Bridge Street, a five-story apartment building, after a reported fire in Apartment 306. Firefighters say they found light smoke conditions in the third-floor hallway and water coming from under the apartment’s door.

When they entered the apartment, they found moderate smoke conditions and a small fire beside the stove. They quickly extinguished the small fire with a fire extinguisher as the sprinkler system had extinguished almost all of the fire. The fire was determined to be under control at 2:25pm.

One person inside the apartment building was having difficulty breathing and had to be treated and transported by the Danville Life Saving Crew to the Danville Regional Medical Center. The sprinkler system was controlled and salvage operations were done. The fire apartment sustained minor fire, smoke and water damage. Seven other apartments sustained water damage. The American Red Cross is assisting the displaced occupants.

Seventeen fire personnel were on the scene for two hours and 29 minutes. The Danville Life Saving Crew, Danville Electric Department, Danville Water and Gas Department and the American Red Cross assisted on scene.

The cause of the fire was investigated by the Fire Marshal’s Office and determined to be unattended cooking. No other injuries were reported.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Simmesport, LA – Sprinkler system activates to stop fire in nursing home storage room

“Always on a Sunday.”

That’s what Bayou Chateau Nursing home owner Gerard LaCour could say in a moment of relief following the evacuation of his facility just hours earlier.

Around 6 p.m. Sunday, the nursing home’s sprinkler system and fire alarm were activated after what LaCour said were “problems in a storage room.”

First responders including Simmesport Police and Fire and Acadian Ambulance got to the nursing home and quickly worked to evacuate residents.

According to Acadian’s Twitter account, two patients were moved to other nursing facilities and one was taken to an area hospital.

According to the captain of Simmesport Fire Department and Simmesport City Councilman Jacob Coco, there was no fire damage, but there was water in the building due to the sprinkler system.

He said that much of that water was quickly cleaned up by members of the community who responded to the scene, including the mayor.

Coco said that once the scene was cleared, they were able to bring the residents back to the nursing home.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Sherwood Park, AB, Canada – Grease fire at retirement home controlled by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A fire at Silver Birch Court last week resulted in the evacuation of 55 people.  During the evening of Thursday, March 16, Strathcona County Emergency Services responded to a fire alarm at Silver Birch Court, located in Sherwood Park and managed by the Heartland Housing Foundation.

As the alarm was triggered by a grease fire in an occupied unit, it was controlled by the building’s sprinkler system until first responders arrived to fully extinguish the fire. The water from the sprinkler flooded all four floors of the east wing of the affordable housing facility, resulting in considerable damage to the suite of origin; however, due to the rapid deployment of the sprinklers and firefighter response, no smoke damage was seen outside the suite of origin.

Strathcona County Victim Services staff, transit buses, RCMP and Enforcement Services provided on-site support for the evacuated residents of Silver Birch Court, and no injuries were reported. As of Friday, March 17, restoration services were on–site and work is being done to have residents return to their suites as soon as possible.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Hamden, CT – Sprinkler system holds fire in check at senior apartment complex

More than 40 elderly residents were evacuated during a fire early Friday morning at the Davenport Resident on Putnam Avenue, an eight-story building with 217 apartments that houses mostly senior citizens.

Firefighters responded to the apartment complex, located at 125 Putnam Avenue, at 6:46 a.m. after receiving 911 calls and a report from the fire-alarm company that services the property, according to Deputy Chief Gary Merwede.

The first-arriving crews found multiple elderly residents were in the process of evacuating the building and required assistance. The fire was determined to be in a third-floor apartment, according to Merwede.

Merwede said that several residents were physically carried from stairwells by firefighters.Incident Commander Ronald Desroches called for a second alarm and all remaining Hamden Fire companies were dispatched to the scene and the fire was under control at approximately 7:25 a.m., according to Merwede.

“American Medical Response was asked to set-up a triage center in the adjoining 135 Putnam Dunbar Residence,” Merwede said in a press release. “AMR paramedics triaged more than 40 elderly residents, with one elderly female patient requiring transport for exposure to smoke and cold temperatures. The Hamden CERT Team was activated and assisted with displaced residents during operations. Several disabled residents were protected in place in apartments or designated areas of refuge by firefighters above the fire floor.

“The fire was contained to the room of origin. Companies worked to ventilate smoke, carbon monoxide and the other products of combustion on floors 3 – 8. The ventilation operation took more than an hour following suppression. After firefighters metered for a safe atmosphere, residents were escorted back to their apartments by Hamden CERT.”

Merwede said the building’s sprinkler system held the fire in check and allowed firefighters to stop the fire from spreading to additional floors and apartments.

“The fire-alarm system performed according to design and alerted the occupant of the fire apartment and all building residents of the emergency,” Merwede said. “Due to these fire protection systems, the resident in 313 and others on the fire floor were able to make it to the stairwell and either self-evacuate or await assistance from firefighters.”

Deputy Fire Marshal Tim Lunn determined that the fire was most likely caused by an overheated extension cord.

The management of the Davenport Residence is relocating any resident displaced by this emergency due to fire, water or smoke damage to vacant apartments elsewhere in the complex, according to Merwede.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Milford, CT – No injuries in senior housing complex fire; Fire caused by unattended cooking

Four tenants of a housing complex in Milford have been displaced after a fire on Friday night.  Milford Fire Department says they received notification of an active fire alarm at 75 Demaio Drive around 7:30 p.m. Firefighters responded to the city-owned elderly housing complex and were notified of a working fire on the fourth floor of the structure.

The sprinkler system in the buildings had activated due to a cooking fire in a unit on the fourth floor. The sprinkler system extinguished the fire.  The tenant stated that the fire started when he stepped away from the kitchen area. He said he left the stove unattended.

There were no injuries reported from the fire.  Four tenants were displaced by the fire and will be relocated to an unaffected area of the complex. Milford housing and sprinkler crews were on the scene to begin fixing the damage.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Fargo, ND – Kitchen fire at senior living center extinguished by sprinkler system

 A kitchen fire in a senior living center unit caused an estimated $18,000 of damage Saturday, Feb. 25.  Fire crews responded just after 5 p.m. to a possible fire at the Touchmark by Harwood Groves complex, 1200 Harwood Drive S. They found smoke in the hallways, but an in-unit sprinkler system had already extinguished the fire.

No one was in the unit at the time of the fire, and most tenants in the three story building had already evacuated before firefighters got there, according to the Fargo Fire Department. A small dog was in the unit and uninjured. A Saturday news release said the fire was accidental and started from combustible materials that were left on the stove. There was minor fire damage.

 

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Barrie, ON, Canada – Sprinkler system assists firefighters in controlling nursing home fire

Barrie Fire says Barrie Police and the Ontario Fire Marshal are investigating a fire at Woods Park Care Centre. Firefighters, police and paramedics were called to the retirement and long-term care facility on Lillian Cres. around 7 p.m. Wednesday evening.  The fire started in a resident’s room on the third floor.

“The resident got out of the room. The sprinkler activated. The affected area was evacuated to a safe zone,” said Barrie Fire’s Samantha Hoffmann. Hoffmann reports that 35 out of the 180 residents were removed from the third floor to a smoke free zone.  Firefighters vented the building and Hoffmann says there’s smoke and water damage.  About 20 residents were unable to return to their rooms and were being housed in another part of the building.

“Because it is a care facility with vulnerable people it’s automatically going to get more response,” Hoffmann said. The building was inspected in October and they did their fire drill in November and they passed, she added.  Sprinklers and staff training were instrumental in the success of the call, according to Barrie Fire.  The cause of the blaze and damage estimate are not yet known.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Richmond, KY – Fire at senior living center suppressed with help from sprinkler system

Move-in day for many residents at Pebblecreek Crossing on Big Hill Avenue took a turn for the worse when a small fire in a lower-level apartment sent Richmond fire trucks racing to put out the flames Friday evening. The fire began when a new resident sat boxes on top of a stove that was turned on, according to Pam Turner, member of the Pebblecreek Crossing management team.  Assistant Fire Chief Mark Murphy said Richmond Fire and Rescue received a call around 8:49 p.m. about a possible fire at the city’s newly constructed senior living facility.

Approximately three tankers and three command units arrived on the scene. Madison County EMS and Richmond police also responded. Murphy said firefighters were met with heavy smoke when they opened the apartment door, but the sprinkler system had put out much of the fire. Firefighters were then able to put out hot spots and remove debris.  The assistant fire chief said there was some smoke damage to the apartment as well as some minor fire and water damage. Two people were treated by EMS.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Sherman, TX – Overnight fire at retirement community suppressed by sprinkler system

One man was transported to the hospital overnight after a small fire broke out at the Renaissance-Sherman retirement community. Sherman Fire-Rescue Chief Danny Jones said the fire appeared to be accidental and was started by a male resident living on the third floor of the facility shortly after midnight. Jones said an unidentified item was left on or near the stove, which was powered on, and caught fire.

“The facility’s sprinkler system worked as it was designed and basically put the fire out before our arrival,” Jones said. “The biggest thing we had to deal with was the smoke.” Jones said that the third floor residents exited their rooms on their own accord and were assisted to the opposite end of the building by staff as precaution. The male resident of the unit where the fire started was transported to a hospital for smoke inhalation and Jones said he believed the patient was released shortly after he received treatment. No other injuries were reported.  The Sherman-Fire-Rescue Chief said the actual amount of fire damage was relatively small, but water from the sprinkler system caused more damage to the apartment where the fire originated and to several units on the floor below.  Jones encouraged residents and homeowners to be mindful of their work while cooking and when in the kitchen.  “Keep combustibles away from any type of heat source and don’t leave food attended on the stove,” Jones said.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Geneva, OH – Sprinkler system contains nursing home fire; No injuries reported

Emergency workers were beginning to evacuate an undetermined number of patients from the Rae-Ann Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, 839 W. Main St., late Thursday night after a dryer fire caused smoke to spread throughout the building, said Bob Russell, Geneva Fire Department public information officer.

“We had a dryer fire in the basement that actually started the sprinkler system,” Russell said.

The fire call came about 8:40 p.m. and when firefighters arrived they had some “mop-up” work to do but the fire was almost extinguished, he said. However, some areas of the nursing home were not immediately fit for patients to return.

Patients were moved to secure areas as firefighters ventilated the building and worked on plans for moving those in areas that were deemed unable to be used for the night, Russell said.

A long line of emergency vehicles blocked Route 20 as they awaited instructions on the evacuation to different sites. At about 10 p.m. some of the vehicles were moved into position to take patients away. At that time, firefighters did not know where residents were being taken or how many would be transported, Russell said.”

As far as I know there were no injuries,” Russell said.Ambulances and engines from multiple departments were used, including Jefferson, Saybrook Township, Madison Fire District, Geneva, Ashtabula, Ashtabula Township, Perry, Harpersfield Township, Geneva-on-the-Lake as well as South Central Ambulance District and Northwest Ambulance District.