Category Archives: Nursing Home/Senior Living

Apartment Building, Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Lancaster, OH – Sprinkler system helps contain overnight fire at senior apartment complex; No injuries

A 36-unit apartment complex had to be evacuated Sunday morning after a fire started on the second story of the three-story building. Lancaster firefighter Pete Anson says the call came in just after 1:00 a.m. Sunday at the Canal Place Senior Apartments. The fire department was notified after the smoke alarm and sprinkler systems were activated. Anson says crews arrived on scene in four minutes.

“We had a lot of elderly patients on the second and third floors,” he said. Residents in the complex were already trying to get out as smoke started to fill the second floor hallway. Because the elevator went out, it wasn’t easy for many wheelchair dependent tenants.

“On our way in we did encounter a female in the stairwell dragging her wheelchair down,” he said.

The firefighter says he and his team began getting people outside and, in some cases, literally carried those who couldn’t walk.

“It was difficult and challenging to get 30, 40 [people] out at one time,” he said. “But the guys last night worked really hard and were able to get everybody out.”

Anson says the fire started on the second floor. An apartment manager would not let 10TV cameras inside to see the damaged area, but Anson says a charred couch that now sits outside the building came from the room where it all started.

Cleanup crews were at the building Sunday trying to dry the water-soaked floors. Also, the America Red Cross Ohio Buckeye Region says three families were assisted and received immediate emergency lodging.

According to the building manager and firefighters, no one in the building was injured. Anson says the cause of the fire is under investigation. Fire Chief David Ward tells 10TV at last check the Canal Place Senior Apartments did meet fire code.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Perryville, MD – Sprinklers credited with quelling blaze in senior community building

Investigators are crediting a residential sprinkler system for quickly extinguishing a kitchen fire inside one of the 92 units at a four-story senior community building in Perryville on Monday morning, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office.

Fire officials also reported that one person, who they identified as Jeffrey Coudon, required medical treatment after suffering “minor smoke inhalation.”

The blaze started about 5:30 a.m. in the kitchen of a one-bedroom apartment on the third-floor of the Fairgreen Senior Community in the 100 block of Greenway, fire officials said. Investigators blamed the blaze on “unattended cooking on the stove,” fire officials added.

“The fire was quickly extinguished by the residential fire sprinkler system, effectively protecting the lives of occupants in the building. Water damage was sustained to the first and second floors, as result of the activation,” said Deputy State Fire Marshal Joseph Walters, lead investigator.

About 15 firefighters with volunteer fire companies from Perryville and Perry Point brought the small fire under control in approximately 1 minute, having received advance help from the sprinkler system, fire officials reported.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Williamson, WV – No injuries in overnight nursing home fire controlled with help from sprinkler system

The Williamson Fire Department (WPD) responded to an emergency call at Trinity Health Care in East Williamson after a faulty wire in a heating unit triggered an alarm.  The cause of the problem was revealed to be in one of the heating units.  A wire had melted and caused the unit to over-heat, according to the WFD report.

The call came in around 2:00 a.m. Lt. Stephen Casey of the Williamson Fire Department was assisted by the Williamson Police Department (WPD), the Chattaroy Volunteer Fire Department (CVFD) and Elite Ambulance service.  Williamson Fire Chief Joey Carey said, “The staff worked along with us to make ensure the residents safety. They had an emergency plan in place and they did a good job following procedure.”

Upon arrival, firefighters noticed minor smoke. A quick investigation revealed no fire but the smell of heated electrical equipment indicated the source of the problem, according to WFD Chief Joey Carey.  Firefighters ventilated the area. The WPD, CVFD firefighters, and Trinity Health Care staff worked together to evacuate residence to a safe area.

No medical incidents were reported and residents were moved back to their rooms within 45 minutes, according to Carey. “It could have been a lot worse,” Carey said. He credited the fire walls and sprinkler system in the attic of the facility with keeping the structure and residents within safe. The firewalls separate sections in the building and isolate any potential problems, according to Carey.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Biloxi, MS – Fire at assisted living facility held in check by sprinkler system; No injuries

The grounds surrounding the Pillars were filled with emergency vehicles and crews throughout the morning on Wednesday, after flames forced residents and staff at the Pillars Medical Residences in Biloxi to evacuate.

Fire Chief, Joe Boney says the fire wasn’t as involved as others he’s seen, but it was still a dangerous situation. “Anytime you have a fire like this, it doesn’t take a lot of fire. The smoke is what gets people. Especially when you have many residents in a close area like this,” said Boney.

Chief Boney says the sprinkler system also did its job. “It did stop the fire. It held the fire until we could get to it to put it out,” said Boney.

According to Boney, only one staff member had to be treated for smoke inhalation, and no residents were injured. The staff at the facility had already started the evacuations when the fire department arrived.

“They did exactly what they were supposed to do, they made sure their residents were safe,” said Rhonda Nettles, administrator of a sister facility to the Pillars.

According to Nettles, the staff members practice several fire drills a month to make sure they are prepared for any incident. Since the fire was contained to one room, the residents were simply moved to a safer area of the building.

In addition to the building’s safety features, all agencies involved were on top of their game. AMR operations manager, Gregory Doyle, says that teamwork is a product of proper training.

“When you train all the time together. Go to the same meetings, go to the same planning sessions, it helps out a lot,” said Doyle. Although one wing of the facility had a bit of water damage, officials hoped to have the residents back to their rooms by the end of the day.

 

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Belmont, CA – 4 a.m. fire at senior residential complex controlled with help from sprinkler system; No injuries

Firefighters battled to get a blaze under control Friday morning at a senior living community complex where 35 people were evacuated and was likely started by some cardboard boxes set near a wall heater, a fire captain said.

The San Mateo County Fire department said the 2-alarm apartment fire in Belmont in the 2400 block of Carlmont Drive. started about 4 a.m. on the second floor. No one was injured.

Capt. Patrick Halleran credited the building’s sprinkler system for saving lives. He added the boxes were in the apartment because an older gentleman had recently moved in.

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

Fall River, MA – Sprinklers extinguish fire on 6th floor of apartment building with over 100 elderly and disabled residents; No injuries

An early-evening fire sent elderly and disabled residents of Borden Place West, 181 S. Main St., out of their apartments. The fire started around 5:30 p.m. in the trash compactor, according to Fall River District Fire Chief Douglas Sullivan. The exact cause was being investigated, but Sullivan said it appeared accidental.  The sprinkler went on in the trash compactor and extinguished the fire.

“The system worked the way that it should have,” Sullivan said. “The fire was contained.”

Wendy Carvalho, who acts as the fire warden on the sixth floor where she resides, said someone may have dropped an ashtray or cigarette into the trash chute “I knocked on everyone’s door,” Carvalho said. “They all came out.”

Most of the 100-plus residents in the building are elderly or disabled, with many using walkers and in wheelchairs. Heavy smoke hung in the hallways even after the fire was extinguished, and many residents sat outside waiting to get back into their apartments. Other residents were inside the community room on the street level, and out of harm’s way.

Resident Joseph Blanchard, who has lived in the building for 25 years, said it wasn’t the first fire at Borden West, but it was the worst. “There was really a lot of smoke,” Blanchard said.

Sullivan said Borden West owner Peabody Properties called in professional cleaners to remove the excess water from the apartments that were flooded on the first floor. All residents were allowed back inside within a couple of hours.

No residents were injured. One firefighter fell and injured his shoulder but was able to continue working. Responding to the fire were four engines, two ladder trucks, Rescue No. 1, Special Services, and Fall River police.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Hampton, VA – Sprinkler system contains fire at senior apartment building; no injuries

Hampton Division of Fire and Rescue responded to a fire in an apartment complex Wednesday morning, officials said. Dispatch was notified about 10 a.m. of a working incident at the Tidewater Senior Apartments in the 1400 block of West Queen Street.

The fire was put out shortly before 10:20 a.m., dispatch said.

The fire began in a third-floor unit’s bathroom, and it was contained by a sprinkler system until Hampton firefighters arrived on scene, Battalion Chief T.A. Hinton said.

The two units beneath the third-floor apartment suffered minor water damage because of the sprinkler system, Hinton said.

No one was displaced by the incident, and no injuries were reported.

Fire investigators determined the blaze was caused by a bathroom vent fan that malfunctioned, Hinton said.

Apartment Building, Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Hampton, VA – Early morning fire at senior apartment building controlled by single sprinkler; No injuries

Hampton fire officials say several units inside a retirement community were damaged after a fire early Thursday morning. It happened at the Seton Manor Apartments on Marcella Road. No one was hurt.

According to Hampton fire officials, someone was cooking around 6:30 a.m. A pan with grease caught fire and set off the sprinkler.

Bertha Davis said she and her neighbors woke up to fire trucks and sirens. “I heard the alarm go off and then I went to the door. People were in the hallway,” she said. “A lot of people had to come out in their night clothes. The ones that had walkers, they were in the hallway.”

Despite the damage and the inconvenience, officials said the sprinkler system worked. “It did its job. It stopped the fire. That’s the most important part,” Stowers said. Stowers said it should take at least three days to completely clean the damage.

10 On Your Side tried talking to apartment managers about what happened and where the people displaced will go. They refused an interview, but sent a statement to 10 On Your Side late Thursday afternoon. The apartment says all affected residents to family homes or hotels while restorations are being completed.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential, Residential High Rise

Nashville, TN – No one hurt in senior high-rise after sprinklers extinguish overnight fire

Emergency crews evacuated a Nashville retirement home early Monday after a resident reportedly fell asleep while smoking and caught a chair on fire, a fire spokesman said. Fire crews responded about 1:15 a.m. to Trevecca Towers at 60 Lester Ave. for a report of smoke at the 16-story building, Nashville Fire Department spokesman Brian Haas said.

Arriving crews evacuated the tower and found several pieces of furniture on fire in a room on the second floor, Haas said. The building’s sprinklers put the fire out shortly after crews arrived, Haas said.

“We have a lot of residents whose families are concerned,” said Tyler Jones, the building’s manager. “Thankfully, the sprinkler system worked as designed, so we’re grateful no one was hurt.”

Nearly two dozen residents were displaced, Haas said, but some of them were able to be housed at vacant units in the same building. The American Red Cross was called in to contact families of the other displaced residents to find temporary homes until their units are repaired. The nonprofit agency also provided cots for a few other displaced residents.

Although the facility may also have to put some displaced residents in hotel rooms, Jones said he wants to assure families that the residents will be taken care of.

 

Nursing Home/Senior Living

Plano, TX – Sprinkler system assists firefighters in controlling nursing home fire; No injuries reported

Firefighters responded to a Plano nursing home Saturday morning after receiving a call about smoke from an employee at Life Care Center of Plano, in the 3800 block of W. Park Boulevard.

The employee called 911 at 8:47 a.m. to report that fire alarms were sounding and that senior residents were being removed from the property.

When Plano Fire-Rescue crews arrived, they discovered a haze of smoke in one of the main hallways and a lot of smoke inside a glassed-in laundry room, according to Capt. Peggy Harrell, department spokeswoman. It is believed that the fire started in a clothes dryer.

“This is what we call a high-occupancy load, where there are lots of people in a building and in a place where there are lots of seniors who might not be able to evacuate themselves,” she said. “We took extra precautions.”

Harrell said the nursing home had good evacuation procedures in place, but once investigators located the fire and determined how far it was from the residential hallways, no evacuation had to take place and residents were able to return to their rooms.

“We were able to close the fire doors and keep the room where the fire was isolated,” she said. “A sprinkler head kept the fire in check, and firefighters brought in the handline to put the remaining fire out.”

Harrell said investigators discovered an armload of clothes on fire in the affected dryer, but the exact cause of the fire has not been determined.

No injuries were reported, but Harrell said a rescue squad was on the scene to check out anyone who may have come close to the smoke.