Category Archives: Nursing Home/Senior Living

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Townshend, VT – Sprinklers help control attic fire at assisted living facility

Valley Cares was evacuated Monday evening after a lightning strike caused a fire in the attic of the assisted living facility.

Just after 5 p.m. 39 residents were transported down the road to Leland & Gray Union High School after the fire alarm and sprinkler system alerted staff to the fire in the attic.

Valley Cares Executive Director Susanne Shapiro said she did not know the condition of the building, though she said the facility would remain closed until a safety inspector could tour the damaged section of the building Tuesday.

“Everybody is safe. The staff did exactly what they were trained to do,” Shapiro said. “Most of our residents are able to go home with family, and for anyone who can not go home, we will find a place for them to stay tonight.”

Townshend Volunteer Fire Department Safety Officer Dale West said the call came in just after 5 p.m., and the blaze was quickly toned to a three-alarm fire due to the large number of residents who had to be evacuated.

West said the sprinkler system helped control the fire and it was quickly extinguished.

A portion of the building did sustain significant water damage and West said a state safety inspector would walk through the structure Tuesday before anyone would be allowed back into their apartments.

“It could have been much worse,” West said. “It’s always hard to get to a fire in an attic, but the sprinkler system saved the day and they’re going to have to start cleaning up tomorrow.”

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Pennsville Twp, NJ – Sprinklers credited with preventing spread of fire at independent living facility

A fire authorities say was caused by unattended cooking prompted the evacuation of residents from an age 55-plus high-rise Saturday morning.

The fire at the five story Kent Avenue Apartments at 11 Kent Ave. was reported around 11 a.m.

Deepwater Fire Chief Joe Hogan said the fire was sparked by unattended cooking. He said there was no one in the apartment where the blaze started when firefighters entered.

The fire was located in Apartment 507 in the east wing of the building — on the top floor.

No one — residents or firefighters — were hurt in the incident, Hogan said.

Approximately six to seven apartments were damaged from fire, smoke and water, Hogan said.

There was also reported water throughout various parts of the building.

Hogan credited the building’s sprinkler system with helping to quickly help douse the fire and prevent its spread.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Baton Rouge, LA – Fire at senior assisted living center contained to point of origin by sprinkler system

Many residents at a senior living center in Baton Rouge were forced to evacuate after a dryer unit caught fire before 7 p.m. Monday.  St. George Fire officials said none of the 93 residents at the Sunrise Assisted Living Center on Siegen Lane were hurt.  One staff member suffered from smoke inhalation and was treated on site by EMS. 

“The fire began and was limited to the laundry area,” said Eldon Ledoux, spokesman for the St. George Fire Department.  The call came in around 6:49 p.m., and crews arrived on scene within 5 minutes. The fire was under control in less than half an hour, leaving little damage. 

“The sprinkler system really knocked the fire down and stopped it from spreading beyond that point of origin. This is where sprinkler systems save lives,” said Ledoux.  Many seniors were evacuated from the building. Others stayed inside behind fire doors with fire crew supervision. 

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential High Rise

Pikeville, KY – Fire at residential high-rise for elderly and disabled extinguished by sprinkler system

A sprinkler system quickly extinguished a fire at the Myers Towers apartments on the 700 block of Hambley Boulevard.  The fire started sometime around 1:30 a.m. Friday on the 9th floor of the apartment building.  When the Pikeville Fire Department arrived, they found a small fire in one of the apartments but the sprinkler system had knocked it down.

PFD and Pikeville Police evacuated the apartment building, which houses the elderly and disabled in 200 units, while crews searched for the fire.  There were no injuries and the cause of the fire is under investigation

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Portland, OR – Kitchen fire at senior apartment building extinguished by sprinkler system

Fire sprinklers extinguished a kitchen fire at a Southeast Portland senior housing building, and one resident was treated for smoke inhalation.

The Portland Fire Bureau called to Sacred Heart Villa at 3911 S.E. Milwaukie Ave. at 7:19 p.m. on Saturday, and an incident commander mobilized more crews after learning a potential fire threatened an apartment building. But by the time crews arrived, the fire had been extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system.

 

 

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.