Category Archives: Nursing Home/Senior Living

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Norfolk, VA – Sprinkler system activates after fire at senior high-rise living center

The Red Cross is helping nearly 150 people after a fire at a high rise senior living center in Norfolk. Investigators say the fire started in a sixth floor kitchen at Braywood Manor,  a high rise senior living center in Norfolk, at around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. Electrical service will remain off in areas of the building where the sprinkler system went off until repairs are made, said Battalion Chief Julian Williamson. 

Firefighters found moderate smoke in the hallway and found one apartment filled with smoke. The fire remains under investigation.  Four residents were evaluated at the scene and two were taken to the hospital with medical conditions unrelated to the fire, added Williamson. In all, the Red Cross says it’s supporting 142 people, 52 of whom needed lodging assistance.

 “Our team provided the displaced residents a safe place to stay, snacks and comfort items,” said Red Cross Communications Officer Jonathan McNamara. “We are currently working with fire officials, apartment management and the families to determine next steps so we can continue to aid the residents in their recovery.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Denver, CO – Sprinkler System Helps Firefighters Douse Flames at Assisted Living Center

The fire broke out Tuesday night in one room at the Brookdale Senior Assisted Living Center located at Colorado Avenue and South Quebec Way in Arapahoe County. Firefighters say the building’s sprinkler system helped them get ahead of the fire. One person was taken to the hospital because she fell while waiting outside but her injuries aren’t serious. Investigators say they know the fire was electrical but haven’t pinpointed the exact source.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Osoyoos, BC, Canada – Fire at retirement home doused by sprinkler system

Residents of an Osoyoos retirement home will begin returning to their rooms today, following their evacuation Monday night because of a fire in the laundry room. The fire was doused by the building’s sprinkler system, and fire retardant was applied by Osoyoos Fire Department members, who reacted quickly to the alarm.

The blaze erupted about 9:30 p.m. at Mariposa Village, apparently because of an overheated clothes dryer on the second floor of the care facility. Acting facility manager Jesse Sales said 26 residents were taken from their rooms and moved “behind the fire walls” as soon as the alarm was sounded. They were accommodated overnight in other rooms at the seniors’ home.

One resident and one staff member were taken to South Okanagan Regional Hospital in Oliver Tuesday night. They were treated and released and were back “in a couple of hours,” Sales said. “They (the fire department) got here before I did,” said Sales, “and I was here in about 15 minutes.”

Will McKay, managing partner of the Baybridge-Baltic ownership group, also had high praise for the volunteer fire department. “They were Johnny on the spot. … They did a wonderful job for us,” he said. 

Sales said most of the residents would be back in their rooms today. For any whose rooms are not ready for re-occupancy, alternative accommodation has been arranged, he said. The care facility is home to 109 residents, plus staff.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Paramus, NJ – Overnight fire at nursing home contained by sprinkler system

The blaze at a Paramus nursing home began in a resident’s room and was contained by the sprinkler system at the Care One at Pine Rest Nursing Home on West Ridgewood Avenue shortly before 12:15 a.m. early Thursday.  A female resident was transported by ambulance to The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood with what were reported to be minor injuries.  There were also unconfirmed reports of two residents with smoke inhalation.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

San Diego, CA – Sprinkler system assists firefighters in controlling fire at senior living facility

A two-alarm fire inside a four-story senior living facility in the East Village Friday left about 25 residents displaced.  The fire at the 200-unit Potiker Family Senior Residence at 525 14th St. was reported shortly before 8:30 a.m.

Firefighters arrived to find smoke pouring from the window of a fourth-floor unit, San Diego Fire-Rescue Department spokesman Lee Swanson said. Its resident was rescued and taken to UC San Diego Medical Center to be treated for smoke inhalation.

Swanson said the building’s fourth-floor sprinkler system was triggered.  Firefighters helped around 20 people evacuate and rescued several others who were wheelchair-bound or otherwise unable to get out on their own, Swanson said.

Up to 150 residents got out of the 12-year-old building safely on their own, and some were allowed to stay inside their homes, according to Paul Downey, CEO for building owner Serving Seniors, a nonprofit organization.

Downey said that after the building is deemed safe and reopened, staffers would assess the damage and determine an exact number of residents who will need temporary housing.  Swanson said the cause of the fire was accidental and that smoking materials ignited combustibles.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Brockton, MA – Single sprinkler helps extinguish fire on 10th floor of high rise for seniors and disabled

(NO MEDIA COVERAGE – Fire Department Reported)Monday in Brockton apparatus responded to a master box in a 10 story residential high-rise housing the elderly/ disabled. The result was a mattress fire in a bedroom on the 10th floor. One Sprinkler Head extinguished fire and held it until FD arrival.  Address 1380 Main Street, Brockton, MA

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Grand Forks, ND – Sprinkler system contains fire on 6th floor of apartment building for seniors and disabled

The fire ignited in a sixth floor apartment in the Ryan House, which houses people at least 62 years of age or with disabilities regardless of age, last Monday evening. The fire was contained to the one apartment, but there was water damage throughout the building from the sprinkler system.  The Grand Forks Fire Department determined the fire was caused by a cigarette that wasn’t properly extinguished.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

West Windsor, NJ – Arson fire at senior apartment complex extinguished by sprinklers

A trespasser was arrested for allegedly starting a fire at the Gables of West Windsor on Feb. 13.  The suspect started a fire was started just before 3 p.m. The building manager told police he did not belong in the building, according to West Windsor police.

When police and firefighters arrived at the building they found an activated sprinkler head and smoke in the vestibule.  Further investigation revealed that a small fire had been extinguished by the sprinkler system, according to police.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Wasilla, AK – Sprinklers keep porch fire from extending into assisted living structures

Firefighters responded to a blaze at an assisted living home near Wasilla early Monday afternoon. Matanuska Susitna Borough deputy emergency services director Casey Cook says that 20 residents and all staff were safely evacuated as firemen arrived at 2:30 pm. No injuries have been reported.

Initial reports indicate the fire started on the front porch of the home, although an investigation is ongoing to determine the cause. Cook says most of the fire damage affects a front porch and an upstairs apartment, while other parts of the building incurred smoke and water damage.

“There was an added on balcony on the second and half of the third floor, and that was pretty much demolished by the fire. The actual living structure was sprinklered, and so the sprinkler stopped a lot of fire extending into the actual living structures…”