Nursing home fire in western suburbs elicits large emergency response, firefighters extinguish blaze

WESTMONT, Ill. — Firefighters extinguished a structure fire early Wednesday morning at a nursing home in Chicago’s western suburbs.

Fire officials say Westmont emergency services were dispatched to Westmont Manor Nursing Home, a two-story building at 512 East Ogden Avenue, in response to a fire alarm just after 4:30 a.m. Wednesday. The westbound lanes of E. Ogden Ave., on the edge of Westmont and Downers Grove, were shut down while crews responded.

According to fire officials, the call was elevated to a structure fire while crews were en route, and upon arrival it was determined that the fire originated in a second-floor residential unit.

Firefighters immediately turned hoses on the second floor to knock down the main part of the fire, say fire officials, while additional crews began search-and-rescue operations. Fire officials say the fire was contained to the room of origin, but there was heavy smoke on the second floor.

According to fire officials, seven residents were rescued from the second floor and relocated to a safe location on the first floor, and the fire was reported extinguished at about 5:15 a.m. All people impacted by the fire refused medical transport.

Fire officials say the building sustained significant water and smoke damage, mostly within the area of the fire’s origin, and 22 units in the facility are now uninhabitable. Nursing home staff is working to find a relocation spot for affected residents.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

“I would like to thank all of our crews and nursing home staff for their quick response to put out this fire and rescue the people who were affected by this fire,” Westmont Fire Chief Steve Riley said in a statement. “More than 20 communities responded to this call, and we are thankful that the residents are now safe.”

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