Smithville fire destroys retirement center
It started off like any other Sunday. The owners of the Webb House Retirement Center were at church, so were two of the 21 residents of the center.
But life took a drastic turn about 10:40 a.m. A fire was spotted and the remaining residents had to be quickly evacuated from the 13,000 square-foot assisted living center. Alan and Lora Webb left church to find their 18-year old business going up in flames.
The well-trained staff members performed admirably, according to Alan Webb, and none of the residents was injured as the result of the fire that apparently started in the area of Room 1 in the older section of the facility. Fortunately, the patient assigned to that room was in another part of the building at the time the fire was discovered.
“They got all the residents out in around two minutes, but they practice that,” Webb said Sunday afternoon from his downtown drug store. “In Assisted Living, we’re allowed 13 minutes to get people out and they (staff) can do it in two minutes when the heat is on. The heat was on and they did it. I’m proud of them.
“My wife was pretty frantic when the fire was going and said ‘Alan, we’ve lost everything.’ I said, honey we haven’t lost anything. Everybody’s alive, nobody’s hurt and all the employees are okay,” he added.
Only two residents were taken to the hospital for minor treatment or observation, Webb said, but were not injured as the result of the fire. Smithville Fire Chief Charlie Parker said by the time firemen arrived, the fire had begun to spread.
“There was already some heavy black smoke coming from the building when the police arrived and by the time we got to the scene the fire was pretty well involved in the middle part of the building and it had started to spread out in each direction of the attic area,” Parker said. “We made several attempts at trying to go in and get to it (fire) from the underside interior, but the ceiling or attic is floored so we could not actually gain access to the fire. We had to start backing out and then the fire started to break through the roof.”
Parker also commended the facility’s staff.
“Upon our arrival, about five or six minutes after the call, the residents were already out of the building,” Parker said. “The employees did an excellent job of evacuating everyone.”
Webb spent the better part of Sunday afternoon at his drug store getting medicines ready for the residents and dealing with state officials, including the fire marshal’s office. “I do want to know what caused it,” he said.
Initially, many of the residents were taken to Webb’s personal residence or to DeKalb Hospital until family members could make other arrangements.
Before the day was over, at least two of the residents were taken to Richland Retirement Center in Smithville, some in a facility in Sparta, some at NHC in Smithville, and seven were housed overnight at DeKalb Hospital as family members continued to seek alternatives.
“We will build back, I think,” an emotional Webb said. “It’s not an easy job, but it’s a loving job. It’s sad to see the residents leave their home. They had given up everything they had to move out there and they’ve lost everything they had left.”
“We’ve been in business 17 years,” he continued. “It’s been a labor of love. I’d say the residents have been like family to us and their families have gotten close to us too, especially the people that operate the facility that have been with me for years. I pray they can find a good job.”
Damage has been placed at more than $1 million, but Webb said what he may miss most is a piece of family history hanging in the facility’s living room.
“I guess of all the things in there, material wise, what I would like to have gotten out was a picture of (relative) Bethel Webb and an invitation to an open house at the original Webb House (hotel) years ago,” he explained.
“It was in the living room not far from where the fire seems to have started. Material-wise, that was the only thing I would have wanted out of there that would have meant something to the family.”
Ironically, Webb was not far from having a sprinkler system installed at the facility. While the lack of such a system made no difference in the evacuation and safety of the residents, it might have resulted in less damage to the structure.
After the nursing home fire in Nashville, all Assisted Living facilities with more than 12 beds were no longer grandfathered in and were ordered (within a certain time frame which had not expired) to install sprinkler systems.
“My plans were to be submitted to the state in the next week or two,” Webb said. “It would have been nice to have one, but when I did the addition (to the building) in 1994 the state said I didn’t have to have it and we did other extra precautions such as extra-thick sheetrock, air gaps and channel gaps in the ceilings to buy time in a fire. We did everything the state wanted us to. Looking back, it would have been nice to have had a sprinkler system.”
Meanwhile, Webb took the time to offer his thanks and appreciation to many in the community for their assistance following the blaze.
“I want to thank the firemen and EMS personnel,” he said. “Some of the firemen were coughing up smoke out there and they deserve a pat on the back. Jim Finley (of NHC) came out during the fire and gave me a lot of insight into what to do and not to do and I appreciate him coming out. He made the offer for us to come out there. They had a fire one time and I offered them to come to the Webb House, too. This county works well together.
“The churches have been great. I think everybody will have some clothes,” he continued. “We have a very good hospital administrator and the people who work there. They’re letting the folks stay there tonight. They’re helping out and feeding them. I appreciate that very much.”