No injuries, but residents briefly evacuated for small fire at assisted living center

Note: This story was updated at 8 p.m.

There were no injuries, but residents were briefly evacuated after a bed caught fire at an assisted living center in west Oak Ridge on Friday.

The fire at Patriot Park Assisted Living on Gum Hollow Road was reported at about 6 p.m. Friday. The building’s sprinkler system kept it in check, and crews were able to put out the fire, which was confined to one room, in about three minutes with a 1.75-inch water line, Oak Ridge Fire Department Chief Darryl Kerley said.

There were 13 patients and two staff members in the building. Patients were put into ambulances and checked out, and everyone was okay, Kerley said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Kerley had initially called for a school bus in case patients had to be relocated, but he said residents will be able to stay overnight at the assisted living center. The school bus call was canceled. Calls for two more ambulances were also canceled. There were already four at the fire.

There was a line of fire trucks, police cars, and ambulances at the fire. Word of the fire at an assisted living center spread quickly to Nashville, where the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency offered help.

Kerley said Patriot Park should be able to resume normal operations in about an hour, except for the one room where the fire occurred.

More information will be added as it becomes available.