At 12:40 A.M. this morning, Humboldt Bay Fire responded to a reported fire alarm at
Granada Rehabilitation and Wellness Center at 2885 Harris Street. While the two initial
fire units and duty officer were responding, Humboldt Bay Fire’s Dispatch Center
received additional information from staff that there was a fire in the facility. The
incident was immediately upgraded to a full structure fire response, including two
additional fire units from Humboldt Bay Fire and a unit from Arcata Fire to aid in
coverage of other areas of the jurisdiction.
The first in fire engine found that there was a fire in a laundry room in the rear of the
facility. The fire sprinkler system had activated and extinguished the fire in the room,
limiting the damage to a table, wall, and ceiling above the area. Fire doors had activated
and closed, separating the patients from the fire area.
Facility staff immediately evacuated patients to other sections of the building away from
the fire area. By the time additional fire units arrived, facility staff had completed the
evacuation. Fire personnel remained on scene for two hours to ensure the fire was
completely extinguished and to aid in water removal from the areas impacted by the
sprinkler activation.
The fire suppression system, quick actions of facility staff, and early notification helped
to minimize damage to the facility and undoubtedly kept the patients from being injured.
Patients impacted by the incident were moved to other rooms within the facility. The
cause of the fire was due to cleaning rags that had been removed from a dryer without
having sufficient time to cool. Humboldt Bay Fire encourages everyone to allow fabrics
in dryers to go through the cool down phase of the drying process and to not place them
in piles until they have cooled.
CLICK TO MANAGE