Murfreesboro crews rescue residents from assisted living facility amid laundry room fire
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WKRN) — First responders went floor to floor to help residents at Westbrook Towers in Murfreesboro Friday morning after a laundry room fire sent smoke billowing through the building.
The Murfreesboro Fire Rescue Department (MFRD) said the blaze was reported at the seven-story building along N. Walnut Street shortly before 10:30 a.m. on Friday, June 21.
“We located the fire quickly and put it out in the laundry room,” Battalion Chief Clay Estes said. “We started evacuating residents and getting them into the stairwells where they could shelter in place or getting them out of the building entirely.”
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“You can think of linens and lint and laundry, but it was mainly smoke. The fire was actually inside a wall,” Estes said.
According to officials, crews quickly extinguished the fire, which was contained to the laundry room. No injuries were reported following the incident.
“The amount of residents there and the age of the residents presents a challenge in and of itself,” Estes said. “We knew the building, we know the residents there, so we were prepared to deal with getting them out and getting them to safety.”
Firefighters said they went throughout the building several times and helped about a third of the residents — some of whom were using wheelchairs and walkers — get out safely. Many others left the building when the fire alarm went off, but some residents reportedly sheltered in place in the stairways that didn’t have any smoke.
“Many of them were in wheelchairs or scooters or walkers, and they weren’t able to get out of the building,” Estes said. “They needed our help to get them to a safe area.”
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MFRD said St. Clair Senior Center opened its doors for Westbrook residents so they didn’t have to stand outside in the heat. Then, after the tower was clear of smoke, residents and workers were able to return.
“Everybody knew what their role was going to be. They took direction great and went from floor to floor to floor to make sure that everybody was out,” Estes said.
The cause of the blaze is under investigation by MFRD Fire Marshal’s Office.
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