No Sprinklers in Home for Aged; Fire Toll Now 16

Fire officials blamed a lack of automatic sprinklers for the deaths of 16 people in a 10-story retirement home on Christmas Eve.

At least 50 others were injured in the fire, which broke out on the first floor of the John Sevier Center just after dark, as the residents and loved ones gathered to celebrate the holiday.

Black smoke poured up the elevator shaft and filled the 65-year-old brick building. The residents, many using walkers, canes or crutches, crowded the stairwells in the rush to escape, officials said.

One resident still had not been accounted for Monday, but officials said they believed he was away, visiting relatives.

Hundreds of people came to the home before dawn on Christmas Day with donations of food and clothing. Hotels offered the survivors and their relatives free rooms.

Fire Chief Doug Buckles said Monday that investigators believed the fire was accidental, but they had not yet determined what caused it.

Buckles said that the building had been converted from a hotel to government-subsidized housing for the elderly in 1977, before Tennessee law required sprinkler systems in buildings.

Fire Marshal George Leonard said that inspectors last checked the building in January and found no code violations.

Grant Trivett, whose family owns the building, said: “We were in the process of getting ready to install sprinklers in the spring, after the bad weather. It was going to cost around $100,000. The money was set aside.”