Two residents of a senior housing building were taken to Springfield Hospital early Friday morning after a fire broke out in a fourth-floor apartment.
The resident of the fourth floor apartment in the Huber Building who was injured is expected to be okay, according to Bill Morlock, the executive director of the Springfield Housing Authority, which owns the senior housing project.
He said that while the building’s sprinkler system contained the fire to the woman’s apartment, there was extensive water damage to the building and that 12 apartments on the north side of the building were affected.
Springfield Fire Chief Russell Thompson said that two other residents of the building needed medical attention as they were being evacuated, and one of those residents was transported to Springfield Hospital, where the apartment resident was also taken.
Neither the fire chief nor Morlock said they had direct information on the condition of the residents.
Thompson said that residents were evacuated and sheltered at the nearby Congregational Church, and that the Red Cross responded to help the residents.
Morlock said Friday morning that preliminary investigation by the Vermont state fire marshal’s office indicated that the resident fell asleep while smoking.
“It’s our understanding that she is OK,” said Morlock.
He said the residents in those apartments were currently staying with friends and family, and that a cleaning service had been brought in Friday morning to start cleaning up the water.
He said that electricity was turned off in the north side of the building, and that people would not be allowed back to their apartments until the building was inspected. Additionally, the elevator in the building was also turned out, pending an inspection.
Springfield firefighters responded to the alarm around midnight, and Morlock said that the fire department called him shorty before 1 a.m.
He said the fire department had evacuated all 60 apartments in the building until they were sure that the fire was contained, and he said the residents were out of their homes until about 3 a.m., while the air quality in the building was checked.
“The building suffered considerable water damage that resulted in securing floors one to four on the north side of the structure,” the fire chief said.
He said there was “heavy smoke” on fourth floor of the building.
He said many area fire departments and ambulances responded to the 12::20 a.m. fire alarm to assist Springfield.
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.
Reporting on lives and property saved by fire sprinklers
