10 residents die in nursing home fire in Chile

By Alix Hardy

MEXICO CITY

Ten nursing home residents died in a fire Tuesday in southern Chile, officials said.

“We deplore the fire that killed 10 in the Chiguayante nursing home and thank the municipal firefighters and other authorities which collaborated in the rescue,” Biobio region Governor Jorge Ulloa wrote on Twitter.

At 3.35 a.m., local firefighters reported fire and smoke coming for the Santa Marta nursing home in Chiguayante.

The blaze started in one of the three wings of the the nursing home, where the women’s dormitory is situated, Biobio officials reported.

“There were 13 women in Dormitory number 2. Ten of them were bedridden and three could move and managed to escape when the fire started,” a fire official told local media.

“The staff had checked the rooms 10 to 15 minutes earlier and had not noticed anything,” according to another fire official. He added the doors of the rooms were open as per regulation, and only the exit door of the wing was closed.

Footage from 24Horas news channel show one of the buildings completely burned, with metallic bed frames remaining inside and the wing next to it partially destroyed.

Local media said 42 residents were at the home when the fire occurred. The National Service of Senior Citizens officials said 17-18 were are now back with their families and arrangements are being made to host the remaining residents in other nursing homes.

The service’s regional coordinator, Sigrid Ramirez, said the home was in compliance with standards. “It’s one of the good establishments of the region,” she told Tele13 Radio, adding that the cause of the fire is under investigation.

President Sebastian Pinera arrived at Santa Marta around 1:30 p.m. to view the rubble with a number of government officials.

“I hope this tragic accident will move our conscience and help us as a society to have more solidarity and take better care of our elderly,” he said.