20 Rescued from Smoky Ind. Senior Center Fire

A fire early Wednesday morning at Golden Living Center led to the rescue of about 20 residents of the senior and rehabilitation center, including some people who had to be taken out of windows to get out of the smoke.

A heating and air-conditioning unit in one room caught fire and caused smoke to fill a rehabilitation wing of the senior center. Firefighters contained the fire damage to the “burned up” heating and cooling unit, Bloomington Fire Department Battalion Chief Roger Kerr said Wednesday afternoon.

Some Golden Living Center residents were treated for possible smoke inhalation at the scene as a precautionary measure. All of the residents were moved to the center’s dining hall, safe and away from the fire and smoke, Battalion Chief Steve Coover said at the scene Wednesday morning.

The cleanup of smoke damage in the rehabilitation unit continued Wednesday afternoon, and the eight residents housed in the affected unit had been placed in other rooms.

“If all goes well, they should be back in their rooms tonight,” Golden Living’s executive director Greg Limeberry said Wednesday.

“We’re serving a good meal, looking forward to Thanksgiving tomorrow. We’re going about our business of taking care of people well,” Limeberry continued.

Golden Living residents had lunch and activities as usual Wednesday afternoon after the massive three-alarm response by firefighters, police and medics at 5:13 a.m.

“I think we work really well with emergency services here in town. I’m glad we’re both on the same team,” Limeberry said. “What would we do without our emergency responders?”

Twenty-two firefighters responded to Golden Living, at 155 E. Burks Drive, as well as emergency responders from IU Health Bloomington Hospital Ambulance Service, the Bloomington and Indiana University police departments and the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office. Buses had been arranged to move the residents, but were not needed once the residents were moved to the dining center.

Most emergency responders had cleared the fire scene by 6:30 a.m. A fire investigator stayed behind and took pictures of the unit where the heating and cooling unit caught fire.

“Thank you guys for coming,” a worker at Golden Living Center told Coover at the scene.

Coover stopped to shake the hand of an EMT and thank him for his work.

Elizabeth Michaels, who works the night shift as a nurse at Golden Living, was there when the fire alarm went off.

“I’m just thankful everyone is safe and everyone is OK,” Michaels said.

H-T reporter Abby Tonsing contributed to this report.

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