There were some tense moments among staff and residents following a fire alarm at Inspirations Senior Living on Sunday, June 11.
Pahrump Valley Fire and Rescue Services crews responded to the Honeysuckle Street facility just after 4 p.m. for what was initially thought to be a structure fire.
Andy Franzen, who has been a resident at Inspirations for roughly six weeks following a serious medical procedure, told the Pahrump Valley Times that he was preparing for dinner when Inspirations’ staff members hurriedly informed residents to stay in their rooms.
“I had just got on the elevator to go to dinner when the alarm went off and one of the workers came running down the hall saying this is not a practice,” Franzen said. “She told us that this is for real and to get back in our rooms, so I went back to my room and had a cocktail. It was a very frightening situation here for a while.”
Fire crews assessed the scene where they found moderate smoke but no visible flames, according to radio traffic between Pahrump Fire Chief Scott Lewis and 911 dispatchers.
Once firefighters located the source of the threat, they ventilated the facility, and went door-to-door to check on the condition of all of the residents.
At approximately 4:41 p.m., medics were summoned to assess the condition of a resident who suffered an injury following a fall at the time.
No other serious injuries were reported as a result of the incident.
Dinner, well done
It was later determined by the fire department that the cause of the incident was related to a resident who was preparing food in a microwave oven at the facility.
“He was trying to heat up something in the microwave and overdid it a little bit by setting the timer too high or something like that,” Franzen said. “Now he feels kind of slightly embarrassed.”
Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes