Category Archives: Nursing Home/Senior Living

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.

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.

 

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.

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.

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.

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.

Oconomowoc, WI – Sprinkler system contains cooking fire at senior apartment building

Oconomowoc officials responded to a fire near 3rd and Main Street Thursday, December 29th.

Authorities say this was a cooking fire and it was out before firefighters arrived at the scene.

According to fire officials, 11 people have been displaced as a result of water damage from the sprinklers. Some will stay with family and others are being helped by the American Red Cross.

Two people suffered smoke inhalation but were not taken to the hospital.

St. Charles, MD – Overnight fire at assisted living facility controlled with help from sprinkler system

Deputy State fire Marshals investigated an accidental fire that occurred at the Morningside House of St. Charles four-story assisted living facility at 70 Village Street in Waldorf, Charles County. The property is owned and operated by the Senior Lifestyle Corporation.  The 11:47 p.m. fire activated the smoke detection system and fire sprinkler system allowing occupants of forty apartments on the second and third floors to evacuate without injury. Occupants on the first and fourth floors were safely sheltered in place.  Nearly 50 firefighters from Charles and Prince George’s Counties assisted the Waldorf Volunteer Fire Department at the scene.

The fire was contained to the malfunctioning wall mounted heating and air conditioning appliance inside apartment #214. The damage to the structure and contents was confined to fire and smoke damage to the apartment of origin and water throughout the second floor.  Occupants of the second floor are being temporarily relocated elsewhere in the facility during clean-up.  Damage estimates were limited to $40,000 to the structure and contents. 

Residential fire sprinklers are effectively proven to save lives and reduce the costs associated when an uncontrolled fire develops. Fires occurring in unprotected structures of this type often are the result of significant injuries or worse to occupants along with a high dollar value loss and extended lengths of time for restoration of the building.

Evanston, IL – Fire at senior residential high rise controlled by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Evanston fire crews responded to a report of a fire on the 9th floor of The Mather at 425 Davis St. shortly before noon.  Fire Division Chief Paul Polep says a resident of the retirement community had left a stove top burner on which ignited a basket of goods on the counter top.  Polep says the the sprinkler system in the apartment had brought the fire under control by the time fire fighters arrived.  Residents of the floor evacuated safely, Polep says, and there were no injuries reported.

Florence, WI – Boiler room fire at nursing home suppressed by sprinkler system

Emergency responders evacuated 45 residents of the Golden Living Center nursing home in Florence on Tuesday morning after a fire broke out in the boiler room, Florence County Chief Deputy David Gribble said.  No one was hurt, but the boiler room had smoke and water damage, Gribble said.