Cigarette ignites mattress in assisted-living facility
NFPA Journal, Nov/Dec 2003 by Tremblay, Kenneth J
RESIDENTIAL FLORIDA
Fire sprinklers extinguished a fire in a bedroom in an assisted-living facility, limiting fire damage to the room’s mattress, bedding, and wall coverings. However, water damage to the building’s lower floors and electrical system made the facility uninhabitable until repairs were made.
One hundred seventy people lived in the facility, although not all were present at the time of the fire. The four-story building, which was 100 feet (30 meters) long and 100 feet (30 meters) wide, had a two-story basement, hollow tile walls, and a wooden roof with a built-up roof covering. A wet-pipe fire sprinkler system provided full coverage, and a fire alarm system had been installed. A central station alarm company monitored both systems.
Firelighters responding to an automatic flow alarm at 9:24 p.m. found the occupants, who told them sprinklers were operating on the fourth floor, being evacuated independently and with the help of the staff. Fire crews discovered that two fire sprinklers had already extinguished the blaze in the unit of origin, which was occupied by a mentally impaired 80-year-old woman.
Once they confirmed that the fire was out, firefighters shut down the water to the fire sprinklers, but not before water, draining from the fourth floor, damaged the entire building’s electrical distribution system and lighting. The Red Cross and Salvation Army helped transfer the occupants to other facilities or to relatives’ homes until repairs could be made.
Investigators determined that the blaze began when a discarded cigarette ignited the woman’s bedding
wet basement repair