Sal Ramirez's quick actions may have saved the building.
Fire at Timberwood Nursing Home Laundry Room, LIVINGSTON, April 17, 2009 - At approximately 9:30 pm on April 17, 2009, Timberwood Nursing Home employee Terrence McGowen smelled smoke. McGowen alertly began looking around, by now the fire alarms were going off. McGowen looked out the window and saw flames in the laundry room which is a small building that's not attached to the main house of the nursing home. McGowen alerted others, called 911, and Sal Ramirez ran out to the fire, and grabbed a fire extinguisher that was readily available in the laundry room and extinguished the fire. The fire was a industrial laundry basked filled with articles that somehow were set ablaze. Within minutes the Livingston Volunteer Fire Department led by Chief Corky Cochran and Assistant Chief John Haynes arrived with a fire engine and a handful of firemen. The firemen got the burned out basket out of the laundry house and brought in a powerful fan to blow the smoke out of the building. Everything was under control by around 9:45 pm. Chief Cochran observed that the sprinkler system was not activated and pointed out to nursing home personnel how to correct the problem. Cochran also stated that, had the sprinkler system been active, it would have put the fire out much sooner. The interior building did sustain smoke damage. Great job by Terrence McGowen, Sal Ramirez, and the Livingston Volunteer Fire Department. Their urgency kept things from getting much worse. The same laundry room caught fire from a dryer in August of 2008.
This industrial laundry basket with articles caught fire.
Firemen inspect the laundry building.
Blackened walls and ceiling show the smoke damage to the laundry room.
Livingston Fire Chief Corky Cochran shows staff members how to make sure the sprinkler system is activated.
Fire extinguisher dust covers items in the laundry building.
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