On the morning of January 8th, Jean Brusspool woke up in the Altadena independent living apartment at the Montesedro Retirement Home, where she dressed and ate breakfast, just like on other days.
The 100-year-old knew he wouldn’t hear much without hearing aids – they couldn’t charge because of the blackout – but she said that a massive Inferno is threatening her building I didn’t know. Nearby neighborhood.
She also didn’t realize she was almost entirely alone.
“They left my mother,” Poole’s son John Ward said in an interview with the Times. He calls what happened to his mother during the first hours of Etonfire a “severe breakdown” and requires a full review and some reforms to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.
Fortunately, that morning, when the pool advanced into the smoky corridors of the facility, two Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies had more than three hours after the remaining senior homes were evacuated. I found her as she struggled to find her way in the darkness. Walker.
“Within about 30 minutes of being confused in the hallway by God’s grace, she hears ‘Hello,'” Ward said. “Can you imagine… what if they never got through? …There are so many lucky things that came together to save her.”
On January 8, after she was reunited with her family after hours remaining during the evacuation of the Altadena Senior Care facility during Eton Fire, Jean Bruce Pool.
(Commentary by John Ward)
Ward tries not to think about what will happen if these two deputies are not sent to eventually sweep the building. Body camera footage from the encounter shows two deputies find a pool on the third floor of a dark, empty building after they first spotted another elderly resident trying to walk their dog. Ta. In the video, Poole asks for help from his agent: “Don’t lose me!” 100 people said.
Lawmakers were able to bring both women safely.
Montecedoro, a nonprofit support facility run by the Anglican community and services, admits that two residents were somehow left behind during a chaotic middle-night evacuation from the Eton Fire. Masu. However, the nonprofit organization has said that “nearly 200 people with cognitive problems and other disabilities, as well as cognitive problems and other disabilities,” according to a statement from the nonprofit’s chief executive James Rothlock. “Some people have a chance,” he also quoted success.
However, he also admitted that “there is a gap between the plans and implementation we are working to understand and correct.”
Bishop Community & Services employee Charlie Lahilly said the nonprofit “holds a nationally recognized fire and life safety consulting company to thoroughly review night and early morning events.” He said.
Most trips at this aid facility will merely separate the growing list of issues and concerns about accidental evacuation and inadequate communication that occurred on the west of Altadena on the night the Eaton Fire exploded. There, according to a Times investigation, there was at least eight hours (if not even eight more hours) after an alert was issued to residents east of North Lake Avenue.
The delay in evacuation orders appeared to add to the chaos of Montecedoro. Officials with living assistance facilities noted in their statement that the team worked with firefighters to monitor the situation and launched evacuation before ultimately ordered. However, the facility is located in the area where it received its most recent withdrawal order issued before 6am on January 8th, according to archived alert records. On the block to the east, residents were told to evacuate 11 hours before 7:30pm on January 7th.
At least 17 people were killed in the fire, all found west of Lake Avenue, with Montecedoro not among them, but more than 9,000 structures burning.
County officials are asking for an external review of the evacuation warning and why Western Altadena has been so late.
Still, Ward was responsible for the safety of the vulnerable group and how Montecedoro staff responded to the emergency, given the flames were near the facility on the evening of January 7th. He said it was not an excuse for this.
“We should have packed everyone who packed their bags at 10 o’clock,” Ward said. “Don’t wait until fire beats your door.”
Jason Montiel, a spokesman for the state Department of Human Services, which approved Montecedoro in 2023, said the agency is investigating what happened at the facility but declined to comment further. He also declined to answer questions about other assisted living and nursing homes in the area. This was also seen on video with a confused evacuation.
Several families associated with other Montecedoro residents reiterated ward’s concerns about the facility’s emergency preparation and lack of leadership failure. Such a provider’s mind.
“The facility is supposed to be prepared for something like this,” Chicotel said. “They are supposed to drill for this. …No one should leave behind, and that’s a catastrophic failure.”
He pointed to an equally chaotic evacuation at the Santa Rosa Senior Care facility during the 2017 Tubbs fire. This also led to investigations from states that threatened to revoke the facility’s license without increasing emergency protocols and tightening regulations. Families with loved ones who went through the incident have filed several lawsuits, claiming that the stress of the day had changed people forever.
Ward said there’s no need to file a lawsuit, but he needs to make sure that what happened to his mother doesn’t happen to anyone else.
“I’m not a litigant, but I want change, concrete changes,” Ward said. “I’m not going to stop until I make all the changes I recommend.”
John Ward and his mother, Jean Bruce Poole, at their 100th birthday party earlier this year.
(Commentary by John Ward)
He hopes that Montecedoro will implement a series of reforms. This includes creating a family notification system that keeps loved ones informed in emergencies, installing sirens or speaker systems that can easily reach residents, and updating protocols that physically check all rooms before evacuation. can. Montecedoro officials stated that all rooms were checked before leaving, but Ward called it a lie because her mother was in her room and was never found.
“It was a breakdown and they couldn’t respond and they failed to prepare,” he said. “They didn’t have any additional staff… there’s no family notification.”
In response to concerns that the evacuation explanation at the facility contained falsehoods, Lahilly said, “We are aware of the claims; [dialogue] For more information about evacuation, please contact residents and families. ”
When Ward spoke about the fire near Montecedoro on the evening of January 7th, he said he had checked in with staff to ensure his mother was safe and secure.
“I was ready to drive there,” Ward said. However, he said staff members had ensured that the building was built around 9pm to withstand fire, ensuring the flames were still far away.
However, the morning he checked in again, he got a panic-inducing update. Most of the senior care facilities were evacuated, but his mother was not with them.
When he tried to seek more details, he was told that everyone was being explained except for two residents, including his mother.
“I’m going to jump into the car and drive to Pasadena. I don’t know where I’m going,” he said.
Luckily, for the longest time, an unknown number appeared on his phone, and his mother was in line. She confirmed that she was OK at the Pasadena Convention Centre along with other women left in Montecedoro.
Ward sighed at Ah Relief before calling out staff from Montecedoro to share their whereabouts.
A few minutes later, he hugged her mother and took her to his house, where she shared her shocking description from the morning.
“No one ever reached out to my mom… apologise,” Ward said. “That’s no excuse for me.”
He hopes that Montecedoro can improve on the scary episode. Because for the past seven years it has been a great home for his mother.
“They’re amazing every day, but to find them, you need something like this. [the facility staff] I wasn’t ready,” Ward said. “You completely failed.”
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