Fire at San Antonio high-rise for seniors
kills five
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[December 29, 2014]
By Jim Forsyth
SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - A fire in a
high-rise apartment building for senior citizens left five people dead
in suburban San Antonio, Texas on Sunday, fire officials said.
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Firefighters used ladders to pluck some elderly residents from the
upper floors of the 12-story building. Three patients were
transported by ambulance to area hospitals, San Antonio Fire Chief
Charles Hood said.
"After looking at the floors, it is amazing that we did not have
more loss of life," he said.
The fire broke out about 6:30 a.m. at the Wedgewood Senior Living
Center in Castle Hills, a suburb surrounded by San Antonio.
Hood said more than 160 firefighters from six fire departments were
called to the scene. Firefighters immediately began rushing
residents out and, in some cases, senior citizens had to be taken
from their rooms by firefighters on ladders, he said.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2014/Dec/29/images/ads/current/edward_jones_sda_pollice.png) "Approximately 75 residents were evacuated from their rooms, several
of whom were non-ambulatory and physically had to be removed, being
carried down the stairs or rescued off of balconies, or being
removed from the top floors by platform trucks."
Hood said several hundred people live in the building, and many of
them were able to leave on their own.
A dozen San Antonio city buses were lined up in front of the
building to provide shelter for the senior citizens from a steady
rain and temperatures in the 40's.
A shelter was set up at a nearby high school for evacuated seniors.
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Hood said the damage to the third floor of the building, where the
fire apparently started, was significant.
"The third floor hallway is absolutely gutted, the doors are
charged, and the smoke and fire was communicated throughout the
building, so it is truly amazing we are not standing here talking
about a greater loss of life."
Jerry Reidel, the fire chief in Castle Hills, said the cause of the
fire had yet to be determined.
(Editing by Michael Urquhart)
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