A Mt. Vernon nursing home was evacuated late Wednesday afternoon when a fire broke out in the commercial oven in the kitchen.
Mt. Vernon Fire Chief Kevin Sargent says the fire began when a rack in the oven failed as an employee was pulling out food. As a result, grease spilled and caught fire. Employees used a fire extinguisher to knock down the fire, but smoke continued to roll out of the oven and spread to two wings of the nursing home.
As a result, employees began evacuating the estimated 40 residents. They remained outside briefly until they were moved to a third closed-off wing that had been set aside in the event of any residents developing COVID.
The fire department worked about an hour to clear the smoke. They were assisted by Jefferson Rural Firemen. Litton’s Ambulance and Mt. Vernon Police assisted with the evacuation.
Sargent is commending the staff on both how they handled putting out the fire and in the evacuation. There were no injuries.
The incident occurred at 4:30 Wednesday afternoon.
