Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential Jackson, NJ – Sprinkler system activates in fire at senior assisted living complex; No injuries reported October 11, 2016 viking210 A fire Sunday morning at the Bella Terra assisted living complex at 2 Kathleen Drive resulted in approximately 100 people being evacuated to Jackson Liberty High School, Jackson Township Chief of Police Matthew Kunz said. Mayor Michael Reina said the fire broke out in the D-wing of the facility and resulted in the evacuation of 44 rooms. More than 30 people living in that wing were taken to Jackson Liberty High School for temporary shelter. “The only thing I know is that the fire was in the attic area above the third floor. It might have been initiated in a heating, air conditioning unit and spread out into the attic area,” Kunz said late Sunday morning at Jackson Liberty as the evacuees were being transported into the high school. “The sprinkler systems were activated, as a result of the heat and the fire causing extensive water damage on that side of the building.” Both Kunz and Ocean County Sheriff Mike Mastronardy said the high school was being used as a temporary staging area for the evacuees. Kunz said: “There were no injuries, but because of the fire and water damage, there had to be an evacuation of the building so the building department and inspections could get in and take an assessment as to what was damaged or if it (Bella Terra) could be rehabitated. That’s going to be an all-day process.” Denise Olejarz, Deputy Coordinator for the Jackson Office of Emergency Management, said early Sunday afternoon that some of the evacuees had either gone home with family members or been transported back to Bella Terra. Olejarz said not all the rooms at Bella Terra are habitable. Reina said the D-wing had roof damaged and would remain closed until further notice. Bella Terra had enough open units to relocate the D-wing’s residents, he said. Ethel Levine, 89, resident of Bella Terra for 13 years, said the fire alarm at the complex went off at about 7 a.m. She said members of the Jackson Township Fire Department arrived at about 7:30 a.m., knocking on the doors of the residents and telling everyone to move into the lobby area. “Then they told us, which of us had to be evacuated,” Levine said. Levine, who lives on the second floor of the complex, said said she remained calm. “I’ve been through a bomb scare when I worked at the post office so this didn’t bother me,” Levine said. John Dittman, 60, a resident at Bella Terra for eight years, also said everyone remained calm before they were transported to Jackson Liberty. “The only pain was being inconvenienced. It wasn’t scary,” Dittman said. Mastronardy said there were over a dozen ambulances on site and a bus from the Monmouth County EMS Task Force to assist in the evacuation process. The fire occurred at about 7:20 a.m, and the Jackson Township Police Department and officers with stations 54 and 55 of the Jackson Township Fire Department responded to the alarm, Jackson Police Deparment Lt. John Decker said. Fire departments from neighboring towns also came to help, Reina said. “The evacuation, rescue went seamless and not a single injury,” he said. “I’m a very grateful mayor tonight.”
