Smoking Blamed in Fire That Killed 9

Careless smoking caused a fire that killed nine elderly people and injured 98 others Thursday night at the Hillhaven Rehabilitation and Convalescent Center, local fire investigators said Friday.

Fire Chief Thomas E. Gardner said more lives could have been saved if the nursing home had installed a sprinkler system, but he added that state fire laws do not require them in older buildings.

“Some of (the residents) might not have died if there were sprinklers . . . I think they should be mandatory in all buildings,” Gardner said. “If I were in control, you couldn’t build a doghouse without a sprinkler system.” He called on state legislators to require older nursing homes to be retrofitted with sprinklers.

State and local officials said the 21-year-old nursing home, which had 161 residents, had undergone recent inspections and was in compliance with state fire codes. The uniform state building code, adopted in 1973, requires sprinklers in nursing homes, but the code was not applied retroactively to homes such as Hillhaven.

The General Assembly in 1987 allowed localities to require sprinklers in buildings at least five stories or 50 feet high, according to fire officials. The brick Hillhaven nursing home has four stories.

An official of Hillhaven Corp., which operates 360 nursing homes across the country, said the home was up to code and was well-equipped to deal with fires. The facility has fire alarms, smoke detectors in the halls and fire doors, according to spokeswoman Mary Stancill. She said the company will consider installing a sprinkler system.

A total of 141 people, including firefighters and neighbors, were taken to eight area hospitals and six nursing homes Thursday night. Of those, 98 received significant injuries. Most were treated for smoke inhalation.