Dryer fire prompts Bend assisted living center evacuation

A sprinkler helped contain a dryer fire in the laundry room of an assisted living facility on Bend’s south end Friday morning, while staff evacuated most of the residents, officials said.

Numerous Bend Fire Department crews responded shortly after 9 a.m. to the reported blaze at Mt. Bachelor Assisted Living and Memory Care on Powers Road, said Battalion Chief Dave Howe.

They arrived to find light smoke in the hallway, coming from the laundry room, he said.

All residents were evacuated before crews arrived, except for several non-ambulatory residents who were sheltered in place on the upper floors.

Howe said the laundry room’s sprinkler effectively controlled the spread of the fire, which was confined to the dryer unit.

Crews put out the fire and removed the smoke from the building with fans before residents were allowed to return to their rooms.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.

“The facility staff did an excellent job of evacuating about 75 residents in an efficient manner, prior to our arrival,” Howe wrote in a news release. “This type of collaboration and planning, along with working smoke alarms and fire sprinklers, save lives.”