Somerset, MA, Fire Chief Praises Nursing Home Staff after Overnight Fire
No one was hurt after a fire erupted in a Somerset nursing home early Thursday morning, according to the town’s fire department.
Firefighters went to the Somerset Ridge Center, a skilled nursing facility, on Brayton Avenue at 3:30 a.m. Thursday. Arriving firefighters knew the layout of the building well, as most of the facility’s residents are older or need mobility help, the town’s fire chief, Jamison T. J. Barros, wrote on Facebook.
At the scene, firefighters established a water supply and made entry into the building. Inside, they found the fire area on the second floor, Barros said.
The building’s sprinkler system had worked properly and a staff member used a fire extinguisher, with firefighters applying additional water to ensure the fire was fully extinguished. The damage from the fire and soot was contained primarily to the room where it started, Barros wrote.
Some parts of the building were affected by water damage, but the damage is not expected to impact the long-term livability or structural integrity of the building, Barros said. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
“Many things can go wrong in an event like this, often with tragic results,” Barros wrote.
The fire drew mutual aid from Swansea, Dighton and Fall River. Barros commended the work of those firefighters, as well as the staff inside the building.
Thursday’s fire comes nearly a month after a fatal fire at the Gabriel House assisted living facility in Fall River, which killed 10 people and injured 30 — the deadliest residential fire in Massachusetts in decades.
The fire has raised questions about the safety protocols in place at the facility, and at assisted living facilities in Massachusetts more broadly. Several residents have filed lawsuits alleging negligence since the July 13 blaze.
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