Smoke In Retirement Home Caused By AC Malfunction

UPDATED 1:47 p.m.: A smoke alarm that went off at approximately 7:55  Tuesday morning in Juniper Village at Chatham appears to have been caused by a malfunctioning air conditioning unit, Chatham Township Fire Chief Jim Pignatello said.

Chatham Borough Fire Chief Peter Glogolich said that the smoke alarms in three rooms on the second floor went off Tuesday morning, and that there was a "slight haze" when firefighters investigated.

"It usually happens on a start-up. An old belt that breaks will create a nice smoke condition, or if the blower goes out it'll overhead and smoke goes through the system," Pignatello said .

Pignatello said that all heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) units in the building were investigated and are working fine. Residents and staff members were given permission to re-enter the building at approximately 8:50 a.m.

Fire trucks from Green Village, Chatham Borough and Chatham Township responded to reports of smoke coming out of the top of the building;. A  Chatham ambulance and four police cars responded as well.

"This is our standard response for this type of building. We get help early just to make sure we're covered," Pignatello said.

Juniper Village at Chatham is a retirement community with 95 residents in Chatham Township. Paul Malgapo, a Juniper Communities employee in resident services, said he heard reports of smoke on the second floor of the building near a secondary elevator.

"The staff were given assignments for which halls to evacuate, and we left Post-Its, different colored Post-Its, on the doors of the rooms that had been evacuated," Malgapo said.

Malgapo estimated that 98 percent of the residents were evacuated by 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.

"Drills happen monthly, so they all know what to do," he said.

Alex Etienne, who also works in resident services, said that the evacuation went smoothly.

"Everybody's okay, nobody's injured," he said.

Residents could be seen calmly leaving the building, chatting with their neighbors and talking on their cell phones.

"We could use a chair," said Ruth Ockman, 89.

A second call to Juniper Village went out at approximately 11 a.m. Tuesday morning, with reports of another fire alarm. Glogolich said that the smoke alarm in one of the three original rooms had gone off a second time, but there was no smoke.

"We cleared the alarm out of there in case there was any just or cobwebs," he said.