Fire In An Assisted Living Facility Claims The Lives Of Two Residents
Two residents at a Georgia assisted living facility were killed when a fire broke out at the facility where they lived. Two other residents were taken to a hospital for further treatment. Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the fire.
Unlike nursing homes, assisted living facilities and group homes are not subject to the same federal laws the require the use of smoke alarms and fire sprinkler systems. Clearly, as incidents such as this indicate, there is a need for more regulation at these type of facilities.
Related:
Ohio Nursing Home Fire Sparks Interest In Resident Safety
Smoking-Related Fires Are A Real Threat To Nursing Home Patients. Is It Time To Put Out The Fire?
Nursing Home Patient Sustains Serious Burns After Smoking In His Bed
Comments (2)
Read through and enter the discussion by using the form at the endDrew Graham - February 20, 2010 11:20 AM
Jonathan,
It looks like news reports are attributing the cause of the fire to one of the residents intentionally setting it. Also, the facility is licensed as a personal care home, not an assisted living facility. While I agree that no federal regulations apply to assisted living facilities, your post was misleading to the extent that it does not discuss the state regulations on point. I understand that this blog is primarily a marketing tool for your practice, and as such is not intended to be objective, but if you are going to cover Georgia news, please do it accurately.
Drew Graham
Jonathan Rosenfeld - February 24, 2010 3:43 PM
Drew:
My post was not intended to be misleading. Rather, the intent was to draw attention to the fact that residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities are at risk for injury or death related fires at their facilities.
The fact that it has now come to light that this fire was intentionally set is extremely disturbing. Rather bicker over the intent of this post, I suggest we focus our attention on how we can prevent future similar events.