Firemen extinguish Fulton nursing home fire

January 16, 2013 at 6:00 a.m. | Updated January 16, 2013 at 6:00 a.m.

Fulton firemen douse a pile of cleaning rags that combusted into a fire at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Fulton Nursing & Rehab, 1510 North Bluff St. The rags were in a bin in the kitchen when the fire started. The burning rags were moved outside and doused by firemen. With the temperature in the 20s, it was not necessary for the residents and employees to go outside during the incident.
Fulton firemen douse a pile of cleaning rags that combusted into a fire at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Fulton Nursing & Rehab, 1510 North Bluff St. The rags were in a bin in the kitchen when the fire started. The burning rags were moved outside and doused by firemen. With the temperature in the 20s, it was not necessary for the residents and employees to go outside during the incident.

Fulton firemen Tuesday afternoon extinguished a fire in the kitchen of a Fulton nursing home.

At 2 p.m. Tuesday firemen received a call reporting a possible hazardous materials spill from Fulton Nursing & Rehab, 1510 North Bluff St.

Nursing home officials could smell an odor coming from an unknown source. They believed it might be coming from a drain in the kitchen of the nursing home.

Fulton Fire Department Captain Carl Stassel said when firemen arrived they found a smoldering bin of rags in the kitchen.

"We moved the rags from the bin outside and extinguished the fire," Stassel said.

Firemen used exhaust fans to remove smoke and fumes from the building.

"They do a lot of cleaning daily at the nursing home and it is not unusual to accumulate cleaning rags," Stassel said. "When the rags are placed together in a bin, the chemicals can interact and cause them to combust and start to smolder, sometimes leading to a fire. Sometimes the oils from the rags will still be in them, even after they have been washed."

To help the tornado-stricken people of Dumas and surroundings, donations can be made to the Delta Area Disaster Relief Fund, care of the Delta Area Community Foundation, P.O. Box 894, Dumas, AR, 71639, or through the Arkansas Community Foundation, 700 S. Rock St., Little Rock, AR, 72202.