Category Archives: Nursing Home/Senior Living

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Redmond, OR – Sprinkler system credited with containing fire at assisted living facility

A southwest Redmond assisted living facility was hit by a smoky fire early Tuesday that prompted evacuation of over a dozen residents – but the situation could have been far worse, if not for the building’s fire alarm and sprinkler systems, officials said.

Redmond Fire and Rescue was called out around 12:35 a.m. to a reported structure fire at The Heights Assisted Living, at 3000 SW 32nd Street, said Fire Marshal Traci Cooper. Crews arrived to find the first floor of the facility’s southern wing filled with smoke.

The building is equipped with a fire alarm system that provided early detection and warning of the blaze, the fire marshal said. A fire sprinkler system activated, containing the fire to a mechanical room.

Firefighters quickly finished putting out the blaze while staff and Redmond police officers evacuated the first and second floors of the south wing.

Initially, 14 residents were evacuated to a neighboring nursing home, Cooper said. Residents from the second floor were allowed to return, while the seven from the first floor were to remain at the nursing home until repairs are made and resulting hazards are evaluated, Cooper said.

There were no reported injuries, she said, thanks to the alarm and sprinkler systems and the quick response from staff and first responders. A damage estimate was being compiled.

The fire was found to have been caused by storage of combustible items too close to a natural gas-fired water heater, the fire marshal said, urging everyone to make sure you keep three feet of clearance around heat sources and combustible items.

Three engines, a medic and 10 career firefighters were involved in the incident, and Oregon State Police also provided mutual-aid assistance, Cooper said.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Prescott, AZ – Fire at senior apartment complex contained by sprinklers

Three residents were unable to return to their apartments at Alta Vista Retirement Apartments after fire crews responded Friday afternoon, June 12, in what turned out to be a box left on a stovetop. Prescott Fire Department Battalion Chief Eric Kriwer said the department was dispatched at approximately 2:15 p.m. to the apartments in the 900 block of Canterbury Lane, responding with four engines and a company truck. He credited the sprinkler system at the apartments with preventing a more serious outcome.

Occupants of some 50 residences evacuated the building as crews looked for extensions throughout the building. Two people were treated for lightheadedness and transported by ambulance to the Prescott campus of Yavapai Regional Medical Center. The ensuing investigation revealed a fifth-floor resident had left a box on the stove and apparently turned on a burner, which ignited the cardboard and triggered the sprinkler system in the kitchen area. Kriwer said three residence were displaced and the property loss is still being calculated.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Las Vegas, NV – Automatic sprinkler douses bathroom fire at senior apartment building

Las Vegas firefighters aided by Clark County firefighters were called to a bathroom fire at the Destinations at Oakey Senior Apartments, 3900 W. Oakey Boulevard at 8:34 Tuesday morning.

Firefighters found light smoke coming from one apartment in the two story wood frame/stucco apartment building. The fire was out when firefighters found it. The fire was extinguished by an automatic fire sprinkler in the bathroom.

Fire investigators believe the fire started in the bathroom fan.

The plastic front piece on the fan melted and dripped onto a towel that was on a towel bar mounted on the wall. That fire provided the heat necessary to activate the fire sprinkler which quickly put out the fire. Damage was confined to the wall and the area around the fan. Damage was estimated at $2500.

The occupant told fire investigators he was lying on the couch in the living room watching TV. He smelled something burning. 

When he checked the bathroom, he saw the towel burning. Just as he was leaving, the fire sprinkler activated as well as the smoke alarm. The man escaped without injury. The entire apartment building was evacuated during the incident.

The fire sprinkler activated and kept the fire to a minimum until firefighters arrived on scene and made sure the fire was completely out. Damage was kept to a minimum.

The fire caused approximately $2,500 in damages.

Apartment Building, Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential, Residential High Rise

Columbia, MO – Single sprinkler activates to control fire in apartments for seniors and disabled

Officials said unattended cooking was the cause of a Thursday fire in an apartment at Paquin Tower, 1201 Paquin St., according to a Columbia Fire Department news release. A fire department crew was dispatched at 9:39 p.m. to the apartment building, where water was spotted coming from under an apartment door.

According to the news release, one sprinkler head brought the fire under control and 84 percent of residential fires are contained by one sprinkler head. The crew remained on the scene to clean up the water in the apartment and in the hallway.

 

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential High Rise

Auburn, WA – Early morning fire in senior apartment building doused by sprinkler system

A building sprinkler system contained a fire in a seven-story senior apartment complex in Auburn early Thursday morning. Damage was limited to four apartments, the Valley Regional Fire Authority reported.

VRFA crews responded to a report of the fire at the Plaza 17 Apartment building, 1001 17th St. SE, shortly after 7:30 a.m. When crews arrived, they found that three sprinkler heads had activated containing the fire to one apartment unit on the sixth floor of the building. Residents were evacuating.

Firefighters completed fire extinguishment and searched the building for any remaining residents needing assistance. Residents were able to rest in the building’s community room, unaffected by the fire, while fire crews cleared smoke and used water vacuums to remove excess water.

Four apartment units were deemed uninhabitable, primarily because of the water damage. Building managers were able to find housing for all but one resident who will be helped by the American Red Cross. Kent Fire Department RFA, South King Fire and Rescue and King County Medic One assisted the VRFA. The fire is under investigation.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential, Residential High Rise

San Diego, CA – Sprinklers help contain blaze at senior residential high-rise; No injuries

A fire of unknown origin erupted in a City Heights senior-housing high-rise Monday afternoon.  The non-injury blaze began spreading on the seventh floor of the 10-story building in the 4100 block of 42nd Street about 2:45 p.m., according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

It took crews about a half-hour to extinguish the flames, which appeared to have originated on or near an outdoor deck, SDFRD Capt. Joe Amador said.  A built-in fire sprinkler helped keep the blaze from rapidly spreading prior to the arrival of emergency personnel, he said.

Firefighters were able to contain the fire to the unit where it originated, though several nearby ones sustained smoke and heat damage, according to Amador.

Authorities evacuated about 70 people from the building and directed others to remain in their apartments for a time as a precaution. The American Red Cross was called in to help arrange interim lodging for those unable to return to their residences immediately.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential, Residential High Rise

Dayton, OH – 8th floor fire at senior apartment building extinguished with help from sprinkler system

 Crews were dispatched to the senior living facility just before 7:30 p.m. Friday on a report of a fire in an apartment of a multi-story building.   The fire originated in an eighth-floor apartment at Bethany Village,  The sprinkler system activated and several medic units have been requested.

Washington Twp. fire Capt. Ron Kern said the fire began in the kitchen of an eighth-floor apartment, and said the cause is under investigation. He also confirmed that two residents have been displaced because of water damage that occurred from floors eight to five.The building was being evacuated as fire crews arrived, Kern said, lauding staff for its quick work in starting that process when the fire alarm was activated. He did not know how many residents and staff had to be evacuated.

We’re told by a maintenance worker at the facility that there was a fire in the kitchen of an apartment on the eighth floor, but it was quickly put out by firefighters and the building sprinkler system. Only the eighth floor was evacuated, fire officials said, and two units are now inhabitable because of water damage.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Oklahoma City, OK – Sprinklers quickly extinguish fire at retirement community; No injuries

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

New Port Richey, FL – Sprinkler system puts out fire at assisted living facility

Pasco County is reporting that the fire at Gulf Haven is out.  The building’s sprinkler system took care of the blaze. Further information is not yet available.

Earlier: Pasco County Fire Rescue is on the scene of a reported commercial structure fire at Gulf Haven assisted living, 6343 Rowan Road.

Initial reports indicate a fire broke out caused by an electrical heater on the building’s first floor, Pasco County spokesman Doug Tobin wrote in an email to media. Units on the scene have not reported any signs of smoke or fire, Tobin noted, but an evacuation is in progress as a precaution.  No further details are available at this time.

Apartment Building, Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Franklin, OH – Fire at low-income senior apartment building extinguished by sprinkler system

Emergency crews were summoned to Meadow Crossing, 825 Central Ave. for a possible fire about 12:40 p.m. requiring the evacuation of residents from the building’s second floor, according to the Warren County Communications Center. a senior apartment building in Carlisle for a reported fire.

“It sounded a lot worse that it really was,” said Carlisle Fire Chief Krista Wyatt. “The sprinklers did their job.” The fire had been put out and firefighters worked to clear the building of smoke and look for any extensions of the fire.

Wyatt said the side laminate veneer of the bathroom’s vanity created enough heat to set off the fire sprinklers. She said two to three apartments received some smoke or water damage in addition to the bathroom’s vanity.

There are 36 one-bedroom apartments for elderly residents who earn 50 percent or below the regional median income. The building is owned by Warren County Community Services and it received a score of 97 out of 100 on its 2014 inspection by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.