Nursing home residents uninjured, but some evacuated after fire extinguisher bursts
Greensburg Daily NewsFeb 22, 2018
Witkemper said fire investigators do not know why the extinguisher fell, but said the result was that approximately a third of the building became filled with "light, powdery" chemicals that can cause respiratory irritation. This prompted staff, firefighters and EMS crews to move the residents to a safe area in the building while some patients awaited transport to the hospital.
Off-duty paramedics were called in to help, and
Prior to that, firefighters entered the building to make certain there was no fire and that all residents and staff inside were safe.
"When we arrived on scene there was still a lot of powder in the air," Witkemper said. "We sent some guys in to make sure there was no fire, and the residents were moved to a different location."
Fire trucks were staged in the adjacent
Witkemper said family members of
"It's a very big process," he said, expressing relief that it appeared no one would suffer any ill effects as a result of the incident.
There were 26 residents and three staff members in the building when the incident occurred.
Witkemper said he believed the residents could return to
Firefighters remained at the scene until approximately 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, monitoring the building to make sure all of the chemicals had cleared and the scene was again safe.
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