WESTMONT (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Firefighters in Westmont say teamwork is what helped put out a major blaze in a nursing home Wednesday without any injuries.
Emergency crews responded to the Westmont Manor Nursing Home, in the 500 block of East Ogden, around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday after a fire was reported in a second-floor unit.
“They made a quick attack on the fire from the outside, Westmont Fire Chief Steve Riley told WBBM. “As we made our interior report inside on the second floor, firefighters were encountered with heavy smoke and started making rescues out of that second-floor wing.”
“Most of the people in this nursing home are completely wheelchair bound or bedridden. That is a big challenge for us because now it takes not only one or two firemen to move people not in their bed or to carry them out. So, there are many challenges and unique situations, especially this morning, that we encountered.”
Still, thanks to firefighter and nursing home staff efforts, no residents were hurt, aside from a few treated at the scene for smoke inhalation.
Riley said the fire did leave more than 20 units uninhabitable.
“Nursing home staff has advised me that they do have enough open beds in the facility to accommodate those 22 units that are uninhabitable,” Riley said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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