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May 15, 2008 1:13 pm US/Central
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2 Killed In Niles Nursing Home Fire
Firefighters Have Difficulty Evacuating Patients With Limited Mobility
NILES, Ill. (CBS) ―
Two men were killed from what is believed to be smoke inhalation, and two others were sent to the hospital, when a fire broke out overnight in a nursing home in north suburban Niles.
As CBS 2's Joanie Lum reports, investigators have determined that the fire started in a third-floor closet at the six-story Hampton Plaza Rehab Center, at 9777 N. Greenwood Ave. in Niles.
The Illinois State Fire Marshal and Niles police are investigating. Fire officials said there were no electrical outlets in the closet, but two of the three occupants of the room to which it was adjacent did smoke. The cause of the fire remained unknown late Thursday morning.
Firefighters arrived at 11 p.m. Wednesday night, and had to evacuate 30 residents from the nursing home. Some patients were bedridden, and some used wheelchairs. A few managed to get down the stairs on their own.
Firefighters contained the blaze to the closet adjacent to Room 330, but the volume of smoke killed the two men who lived there.
"The two occupants of that room that were sleeping in bed died from smoke inhalation, and there was a third occupant of that room who was downstairs in the lobby level at that time," said Niles police Sgt. Tom Davis.
The victims were identified as Igor Shteyn, 67 and Naum Berdichevsky, 76. Shteyn was pronounced dead at 11:35 p.m. while Berdichevsky was pronounced dead at 12:24 a.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office, which said both men appeared to have suffered smoke inhalation. Both men were pronounced at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge.
A former volunteer said Berdichevfky was a smoker.
"He was a nice old man; a very nice man," said former volunteer Donna Ryan.
Niles police Sgt. Ron Brandt said two other people were taken to Glenbrook Hospital in Glenview with injuries that were not life threatening.
Residents said it was a frightening experience.
"This guy came in the room and said for everybody to get up and get out of there, because smoke was everywhere," said Catherine Bankston.
The damage was extensive, Niles Fire Chief Barry Mueller said.
"There was water, smoke and heat damage to the third floor and portions of the fourth floor," Mueller said, "and therefore we have evacuated 30 patients from those floors and brought them down to the second floor, and evaluated them for medical treatment."
Niles firefighters had to call for assistance from neighboring suburbs, among them Park Ridge, Skokie and Glenview.
On Thursday, relatives of residents drove to the center to check on their loved-ones. They said no one would answer the phone to give them information.
"The first floor connected the fourth floor nurse's station. No one answered the phone," a woman said. "That's why I came here."
"It's scary, because no one contacted us," another woman said.
"I think my mom heard from the news before she actually heard from the people, so it's just kind of bad enough as it is," a man said.
The nursing home is a for-profit facility with 304 beds. The relatives of the surviving residents said they were confident in the care at the nursing home.
The facility was undergoing an inspection Thursday morning. It has been cited in the past, but has not had any major issues.
Fire officials said they would release more information in the afternoon.
CBS 2's Joanie Lum and the STNG Wire contributed to this report.
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