It was early evening on a Wednesday. Around 5 p.m. on Oct. 21, firefighters were called to a senior-living center in Clinton, Mississippi, about 10 miles northwest of Jackson. More than 100 people lived there. Multiple wings were on fire, the mayor said. Two residents died.
Clinton's fire chief, Levius Buckley, said the staff at the Brookdale Clinton center got about 85 residents out safely. Firefighters helped another 10 to 15 out. At least four people went to hospitals. Mayor Will Purdie announced the two deaths at a news conference, the Associated Press reported in Friday's Journal. The cause is under investigation. One fact is already known. The center's sprinkler system was working, Buckley said.
Read that sequence again, because it's the story. The fire spread across several wings. The sprinklers were working. And the staff on shift got most of the residents out, about 85 of them. Two people still died. In a building full of older people, many of whom move slowly, minutes are everything.
What to ask on the tour
Families touring a community usually ask about the food, the activities and the monthly bill. Fire safety gets a glance at the exit signs. We'd move it up the list. Ask whether the whole building is sprinklered, and when the system was last inspected. Ask how many staff are on the floor at night and at mealtimes, when most residents are in one place. Ask how often they drill moving residents who can't walk, and where everyone goes once they're out. Ask to see the state's last inspection report. A good community has those answers ready and is glad you asked.
Our read
This is Retirement, M10, and Consumer Protection, M11. Choosing a senior-living community is a money decision, often the biggest monthly bill of a person's later years. It's also a safety decision, and the two belong together. The sprinklers in Clinton worked, the staff moved fast, and two people still died. That's the honest picture. Systems and people together are what get a building of more than 100 slow-moving residents out. You pay for both in the monthly fee, so you're allowed to ask what you're paying for.
If a parent or spouse already lives in a community, or you're choosing one, here's the check this week. Ask the administrator two questions. Is every resident room sprinklered, and how many staff are on the floor overnight? Then find the building's evacuation plan and read where your person would be taken. Put the answers in the family file next to the contract. The fire alarm is the first drop of rain, and nobody wants to be hunting for the umbrella then. If you'd like a second set of eyes on a community's contract and its safety answers, we're glad to read them with you.