An Oak Ridge assisted living center is thankful for its sprinkler system after a fire broke out on the premises Friday, state officials said Wednesday. All residents were safely evacuated and property damage contained to one room because of the sprinkler system.
This news comes at the same time as investigators comb through the fire-devastated ruins of an assisted living community in L’isle Verte, Quebec. where 25 residents lost their lives. The major difference between the two fires is that the assisted living building in Oak Ridge was equipped with a working sprinkler system, a press release said.
“The damage to the building was minimal, and no residents were displaced,” Oak Ridge Fire Department Fire Chief Darryl Kerley said of the Friday evening fire at Patriot Park Assisted Living on Gum Hollow Road. “Without the sprinkler system, we believe the outcome would be very different.” [Read more…]