Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential High Rise Lafayette, LA – Sprinkler system activates in high-rise senior apartment building fire; No injuries reported October 19, 2016 viking210 The fire originated in an apartment on the fourth floor of Evangeline Elderly Apartments. It was caused by an occupant who left a pot of grease unattended on the stove top. The grease ignited and caught the cabinets in the kitchen on fire. The sprinkler system in the apartment activated and quickly extinguished the fire. The kitchen sustained minimal fire damage. However, heavy water damage was observed seeping through light fixtures on the first floor. Concerned of electrical hazards from the water, 69 tenants were evacuated and later transported to two local hotels. The management company arranged for the transportation and lodging. Acadian Ambulance, Lafayette Police, and American Red Cross assisted fire personnel with the care of the elderly tenants. No one sustained any injuries. The cause of the fire was ruled an accident. ORIGINAL STORY:A small fire that broke out Tuesday evening at Evangeline Elderly Apartments in Lafayette has inadvertently caused big problems for more than 60 of its residents. According to information from the Lafayette Fire Department, a small fire broke out in a fourth-floor apartment’s kitchen Tuesday, triggering the building’s sprinkler system. The fire was extinguished before firefighters arrived at the scene; however, the water from the sprinkler system caused another issue. As a result of the water from the sprinkler system, firefighters worked to evacuate about 65 of the complex’s residents. “The fourth floor on down has sustained some extent of water damage,” Lafayette Fire Department spokesman Alton Trahan said in an email. “Water is seeping through some of the electrical fixtures on each floor.”
