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Nursing home fire kills nine, injures 56 others

Hospital Safety Connection, October 8, 2003

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Nine residents died and 56 others treated at local hospitals as a result of a September 25 six-alarm fire in a Nashville, TN, nursing home, the Associated Press reports.

The fire broke out on the second floor of NHC HealthCare Center, a four-story building with 116 residents and no sprinklers in the living areas. Built in the 1960s, the facility was exempt from a 1994 state law requiring sprinklers because it hadn't been extensively renovated.

Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire, but a possible cause is an electrically powered bed. The bed, which moves up and down to allow a patient to sit up to read or watch television or sleep when lying flat, was sent to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Agency for analysis.

Firefighters carried more than 100 residents to safety during the blaze using backboards and wheelchairs.

The home's owner, National HealthCare of Murfreesboro, TN, has self-funded insurance that may not cover all claims. National runs 82 nursing homes in 12 states, as well as home care programs and independent- and assisted-living centers.

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