Bitter cold gripped Hartford in the early morning of Feb. 26, 2003, as Fire Chief Charles Teale responded to a fire at Greenwood Health Center.
鈥淚 can remember arriving on the scene and seeing a row of patients,鈥� Teale said. 鈥淚f they weren't shivering and their teeth weren't chattering, they were deceased already.鈥�
Teale said a recent fire at an assisted-living facility in Fall River, Massachusetts, brought back memories of the deadly tragedy in Hartford. Sixteen people were killed as a result of the 2003 fire.
鈥淭hey were in excess of 140 people in that convalescent home at that time and the situation could have been much, much, much worse, although 16 was certainly bad enough,鈥� Teale told 黑料新闻.
During this month鈥檚 Fall River fire, at least 10 people have died and about 30 were injured, putting a spotlight on Teale said the fire he responded to more than two decades ago prompted similar calls for reform 鈥� not for the facilities, but for fire codes.
鈥淭he building was not sprinkled, nor did it have smoke detectors throughout it,鈥� Teale said. 鈥淚t had been inspected by the fire marshal's office very recently and it passed inspection, simply because according to code, it met all the requirements.鈥�
by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found the Greenwood fire spread, in part, because federal regulations did not require smoke detectors in patient rooms at that time. It also found state and federal regulators had not required sprinklers because the facility was built before sprinkler laws took effect.
鈥淚t's hard to believe this is the case, but it was the case,鈥� Teale said. 鈥淏ut nowadays, of course, those things are required thanks to the actions of our legislators.鈥�
The Greenwood fire also prompted concerns about how often night shift staff .
Teale remembers hearing about the dedication of one particular nurse that day.
鈥淪he would do whatever she could to make sure that the patients could be transported safely,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou could see her hands through the smoke, working on the patients as they try to get the patients out of the building.鈥�
鈥淭o me, that was truly heroic,鈥� Teale said.
The former chief offers his condolences to people who lost a loved one in the Fall River fire and its aftermath, and offered prayers to them, as well as the first responders.
鈥淭he members of the department that responded to that fire should take full advantage of any assistance that is provided, so that they don't take that experience home with them, because it can happen,鈥� Teale said. 鈥淎nd it can disrupt a household in ways you can't imagine.鈥�
The scene at Greenwood Health Center, now under new management and renamed , stays with Teale more than 20 years later.
鈥淚 don't know if a day goes by where I don't think about it,鈥� Teale said. 鈥淏ut more than anything else, I remember the work that the members of the Hartford Fire Department performed.鈥�
黑料新闻鈥檚 Cassandra Basler and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
