Assisted living facility staff awarded by Streetsboro Fire Department

Streetsboro firefighters presented Community Safety Award certificates to nine staff members at the city’s Gardens at Liberty Park assisted living facility Wednesday.

Shortly after 1 p.m. Nov. 18 the Streetsboro Fire Department received an alert for fire alarm activation at the Greentree Parkway facility. While en route, firefighters learned that additional fire alarms were being activated at the facility, suggesting a serious situation could be unfolding, said SFD Fire Prevention and Investigations Officer Kevin Grimm.

Liberty staff members directed the first responders, who did not see smoke or flames, to the correct wing of the building, the nearest entrance for the wing affected, and then to the room where the fire occurred, Grimm said.

There, the facility’s maintenance director told firefighters that the alert was because of an appliance fire in a resident’s room. Firefighters determined that staff members had covered fire doors and ensured all residents were safe.

“Incredibly, the fire department only spent 17 minutes on scene,” Grimm said. “This quick turn around and the sustained safety of the facility is directly attributed to the staff members who acted swiftly, and in accordance with the established facility safety plan.”

Receiving the awards were:

  • Beverly Lewis, who sounded the alarm to alert staff and used a fire extinguisher to put the fire out.
  • Clarence Nelson, who ensured the fire was extinguished, moved the appliance out of the building, and brought in fans to start moving smoke out of the building, which prevented the smoke from spreading throughout the facility.
  • Ami Battison and Aniyah Jones, who helped make sure all resident room doors were closed, preventing the spread of smoke into their personal spaces.
  • Dennis Lewis and Michael Gokey, who helped move residents to a place of safety.
  • Janet Lash, who helped direct the fire department to the correct area of the building without delay.
  • Theresa Maczko, who helped ensure staff covered all fire doors, and helped direct first responders to the correct area of the building without delay.
  • Ronnie Richmond, who brought fans into the area after the fire was extinguished, which helped to move smoke out of the building before the fire department arrived.

Following Wednesday’s award presentation, all staff participated in a brief safety training review.

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Wendy DiAlesandro is a former Record Publishing Co. reporter and contributing writer for The Portager.