ERIN, Tenn. (WTVF) — Sixteen people at a nursing home in Erin were hurt after a fire broke out at the facility early Friday morning.
According to the Erin Police Department, one of the residents was flown to a hospital in Nashville in critical condition.
Watch below: Erin Police Chief Mark Moore and Houston County Sheriff Kevin Suggs give an update on the fire.
The fire broke out around 5 a.m. at the Signature Healthcare on Rocky Hollow Road in the northwest side of the facility. It is not yet known what caused the fire, which has since been put out, but it is under investigation.
Erin Police Chief Mark Moore said some of the residents were taken by ambulance and some were treated at the scene for minor injuries such as smoke inhalation. Fire personnel were also treated on scene.
Moore said about 33 to 36 residents in the affected wing of the facility have been evacuated. Some residents have been moved to Erin Elementary School temporarily until they can be moved to another Signature Healthcare facility.
"This could have been a whole lot worse. I mean, you're talking about a large facility and it's full of people and five o'clock in the morning most people's asleep. So it turned out as well as it could be," Moore said.
It was definitely a scary moment for family and loved ones of the residents.
Michelle Baggett says it was a call she'll never forget.
"I was just trying to contact everybody to see where my mom was and I found out through somebody else who had been there, volunteered said she was OK, but they didn't know at that point if she was going."
Baggett's mother has lived at the facility for two years and thankfully made it out safely.
"She had to be lifted out of the bed. They're wonderful there. They got her up out of the bed but just a contact, call saying your mom is OK would've been great," Baggett said.
Signature Healthcare officials said family members who are the responsible party or emergency contact of a resident will be contacted.
