DUNEDIN, FL - Three dozen people were evacuated from a nursing home early Sunday after a laptop battery exploded and caused a fire.
Dunedin Fire Division Chief William McElligott said the fire started about 8:30 a.m. at the Nurses Helping Hands nursing home on Curlew Road.
McElligott said staff members were able to put out the fire, which was contained in a single room, with an extinguisher.
Fire hazards from some laptop batteries have prompted product recalls in the past. McElligott said he did not know whether the battery that had caught fire was subject to a recall.
The fire produced thick smoke, he said, and 36 patients and staff members were evacuated. Three evacuees were treated at the scene, and four were taken to the hospital. Their conditions were not considered life-threatening, McElligott said.
Reached Sunday afternoon, nursing home staff said the building had been cleared of smoke and all residents had returned.
Those taken to the hospital were two residents and two caregivers, nurse's aide Ruth Lucena said. Three of the four had been released, she said, and one caregiver remained hospitalized Sunday. |
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