Category Archives: Nursing Home/Senior Living

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Norwalk, CT – Fire that started in trash compactor extinguished by sprinkler system

 A trash compactor fire was extinguished in a New Canaan Avenue facility on Saturday, officials said.

Firefighters responded around 4 p.m. to Broad River Homes, an assisted living facility at 108 New Canaan Ave. for a report of a fire in the trash compactor, Assistant Fire Chief Chris King said.

The fire was contained to the trash container and chute thanks to an activated sprinkler head. Fire department personnel completed putting out the flames that remained.

Many residents self-evacuated the building after the fire alarm sounded and were later taken to the second floor community room because of the cold weather.

Residents who couldn’t self-evacuate were checked on by fire personnel to ensure their safety.

Firefighters ventilated the building, and all occupants were able to return to their apartments.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Albany, OR – Fire sprinkler system puts out fire at senior living facility

The Albany Fire Department responded — twice — to a fire in a unit at the Brookdale Senior Living facility Saturday night.

Sandy Roberts of the Fire Department said firefighters were initially called to the facility, at 2445 Geary St. SE, by an automated alarm. However, staff at the facility thought it was a false alarm and called the department and told them to disregard the call, she said.

Staff eventually realized there was a fire and called the department again. The fire crews were called out for a structure fire at 10:36 p.m. Roberts said the building was equipped with sprinklers, which activated and extinguished the fire.

“It’s an excellent case showing why sprinkler systems are incredibly useful,” she said.

Roberts said the fire appears to have been started by a nightlight that fell onto a resident’s bed. The department is treating it as an accidental fire.

Albany fire personnel evaluated the resident in the unit that caught fire, but did not transport the resident to a hospital. The resident was not displaced by the fire, she said.

Roberts added that no fire personnel were injured by the fire, but a wing of the facility suffered extensive smoke and water damage.

She added that in cases of fire alarm activation, the safest option is to let firefighters come and make sure there is no fire.

“The best rule of thumb is to let us come when you have a fire alarm,” she said.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Sedona, AZ – Fire at assisted living facility extinguished by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

Sedona firefighters were dispatched to the Sedona Winds assisted living facility at 475 Jacks Canyon Road for a fire in one of the residential units on Saturday at 1:56 a.m., according to the Sedona Fire District.

“The automatic fire sprinkler system had extinguished most of the fire before we arrived,” said Captain David Rodriguez, “limiting fire damage to the one room.”

The fire was discovered by a nurse’s aide when the sprinkler system activated and triggered the buildings fire alarm system.

The aide was able to evacuate the resident from the room and unplugged the HVAC unit, which appeared to be the cause of the fire, stated the SFD press release.

“This was an amazing success story,” said Fire Marshal Jon Davis in the press release. “A working fire sprinkler system, combined with a well-trained staff and a quick response by firefighters resulted in the best possible outcome.”

“I have no doubt that without all of those elements coming together, the outcome would have resulted in injury or death to occupants of the building and damage to the structure would have been extensive.” said Davis, “Incidents like this really highlight how a comprehensive fire safety strategy can benefit a community.”

Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office Deputies along with YCSO Search & Rescue members and Sedona Police Department assisted at the scene with the temporary evacuation of residents from the wing of the building where the fire occurred. Approximately 20 residents were displaced for a couple of hours and the resident of the room where the fire occurred, had to be relocated to another room while theirs is repaired.

Sedona Fire District investigators determined that the fire started when the in-room, wall mounted HVAC unit malfunctioned.

There were no injuries reported and damage is estimated at $20,000, the SFD press release said.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Walnut Ridge, AR – Fire at nursing home put out by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

Emergency crews are now at the scene of a fire at Walnut Ridge Nursing and Rehab, according to a post on the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department Facebook page.

The post noted that Fire Chief Frank Owens said the fire was under control but that the building received a considerable amount of smoke.

“Ambulances are being staged but no injuries are reported at this time,” the post noted.

Walnut Ridge Mayor Charles Snapp said authorities got a call around 8:10 p.m. Friday from an employee at the nursing home about a dryer on fire.

Snapp said the sprinkler system was activated and put out the fire, which was contained to the laundry room.

No evacuation was needed and crews are working to clean up the area now, Snapp said.

Officials also said Walnut Ridge police is at the scene and that officials are asking people to avoid the area, if at all possible.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

New Milford, NJ – Sprinkler system contains fire to single room at nursing home

The residents of a New Milford care facility were safely removed after a small but smoky fire broke out Thursday morning, Chief of Police Brian Clancy said.

Police responded to Woodcrest Center Care One on River Road at about 9 a.m. on a report of fire on the second floor. Officers Darrell Marshall and William Reardon, along with staff, helped get a number of disabled patients out safely, Clancy said.

The small fire, which started on a bed and spread to a wall, was extinguished by the facility’s sprinkler system and contained to a single room, Clancy said. The room was empty when the fire started.

A total of 22 people were treated for smoke inhalation, with 16 going to the hospital. Most of those who suffered smoke inhalation were staff who evacuated patients from the second floor, where the fire broke out.

River Road was closed for two hours before the facility was reopened at around 11 a.m. No one will be displaced due to the fire, Clancy said.

He went on to thank the agencies that responded, including ambulances from Hackensack, Holy Name and Englewood hospitals as well as from Teaneck, Bergenfield, Dumont and River Edge.

“All departments involved worked really well together and we were able to avoid any serious injuries to the residents, employees and emergency personnel. The Care One staff and police officers that were first on scene really did a great job relocating disabled patients from the fire floor,” Clancy said.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

San Pablo, CA – Sprinkler system puts out fire at nursing home; No injuries reported

A fire at a San Pablo nursing home spurred the evacuation of three dozen patients Friday afternoon, authorities said.

Firefighters were called to Vale Healthcare Center at 13484 San Pablo Ave. about 2:10 p.m. for a report of a fire, according to Contra Costa County Fire Protection District spokesman Steve Hill.

Hill said the fire ignited inside a room on one of the facility’s four wings, and while the flames were quickly snuffed out by a sprinkler system, 36 patients still had to be evacuated. The evacuated patients were ultimately re-accommodated elsewhere in the facility.

No injuries were reported, but there was smoke and water damage to a handful of rooms, according to Hill.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The fire snarled traffic in the surrounding area, but authorities said things were starting to return to normal by about 4 p.m.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential, Uncategorized

Warrenton, VA – Stove top fire at senior citizen apartment complex extinguished by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

Moffett Manor, a senior citizen apartment complex at 115 Manor Court, was evacuated Wednesday morning when a fire alarm summoned the Warrenton Volunteer Fire Department, according to Chief Jason Koglin. No injuries were reported from a small fire in one of the apartments. 

A little before 6 a.m.an engine from the Warrenton Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched to an automatic fire alarm at the apartment complex, Koglin said. 

Upon investigation, firefighters noticed the sprinkler system had been activated. They found smoke on the second floor and upgraded the call to a building fire just after 6 a.m.  

Firefighters found an apartment involved and discovered a small stove top fire that had been extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system, Koglin said. 

The building was cleared for re-occupancy soon after.  

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Madison, AL – Nursing home fire kept in check by sprinkler system; No injuries reported

A small fire broke out in the kitchen at Madison Manor nursing home Tuesday night.

Madison Fire and Rescue officials say that the nursing staff and the home’s sprinkler system played a big part in keeping the fire from spreading before firefighters could arrive.

None of the 72 residents of the home were displaced or injured.

HEMSI emergency crews treated one woman who is not a resident at the scene.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Farmers Branch, TX – (no media coverage) Assisted living kitchen fire extinguished by single fire sprinkler head; No injuries reported

On Tuesday, September 10, 2019, the Farmers Branch Fire Department was dispatched to an automatic fire alarm call to Brookdale Assisted Living Center, located at 13505 Webb Chapel, Farmers Branch, TX 75234.

Upon arrival, a maintenance employee met Truck 131 crew at the fire pump room and stated he had a sprinkler head go off due to a cooking fire.  While the pot was on fire, an employee took the burning pot to the sink to pour water over the burning pot.  During this action, the sprinkler head above the sink activated and extinguished the fire.  No injuries occurred.

T131 crew shut down the sprinkler system by turning off the main control valve and opening main drain.   Administration was advised that the sprinkler head would have to be replaced before the system could be restored.