Man, woman dead after back-to-back fires at assisted-living facilities

Fires break out at 2 senior living facilities, killing 2 residents

Authorities are investigating two fires that broke out at Valley senior living facilities, leaving two residents dead. FOX 10's Ashlie Rodriguez has more details of the incidents that happened within 12 hours of each other.

PEORIA, Ariz. - Fire crews responded to two separate assisted living facilities in less than 12 hours between Monday night and Tuesday morning.

What we know:

A fire broke out Monday night at the Olive Ridge Senior Living Community in Peoria, killing two elderly people. 

Then on Tuesday morning, crews found smoke coming from the Resolve Harmony Center in Phoenix.

Peoria:

2 killed in fire at Peoria senior living community

A deadly fire in the West Valley is under investigation near 103rd and Olive Avenues. FOX 10's Danielle Miller reports.

However, in Peoria, where the fire fight was more intensive, an elderly man and woman were found dead inside the apartment. They have been identified as 79-year-old Joanne Gail Kaluza and 82-year-old Gene John Kaluza.

Crews from Peoria, Sun City, Glendale and El Mirage rushed to the scene just before 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 12 at Olive Ridge Senior Living near 103rd and Olive Avenues where a loud explosion was heard, followed by flames and smoke engulfing an apartment inside the facility. 

Inside were more than 70 residents struggling to evacuate in the dark.

Phoenix:

In Phoenix, the 40 residents woken up by alarms were scared, but everyone was OK thanks to a vigilant staff member who smelled smoke and quickly called the fire department. Officials noted that trying to evacuate assisted living facilities in an emergency situation takes practice and preparation.

Melanie Turner, a resident at the Resolve Harmony Center, and her husband Henry watched the news of the Peoria fire, not realizing that just hours later smoke would fill their own facility on Southern Avenue in Phoenix.

"I woke her up," Henry said. "It was very noisy. A lot of horns were going off. But I stayed cool and stayed in my room watching, waiting to see when we were going to be excavated out of there."

Phoenix Fire was able to quickly find and extinguish the fire, and the 40 residents were able to get back to bed.

What they're saying:

The CEO of the Peoria facility released a statement writing: "It is our understanding that two of our tenants passed as a result of the fire; our hearts and prayers go out to their families and loved ones as they process this tragic loss."

The news is concerning to Turner, who says evacuating these types of facilities is difficult as they are filled with residents on walkers, in wheelchairs, or who are bed-bound.

"That might concern me, especially since I’m not familiar with the emergency protocol to evacuate," Turner said. "But I think that once we practice it some more, we will get to know what they want us to do, what’s expected of us and make sure they have a head count and things like that."

What we don't know:

It's unclear what sparked the flames.

What's next:

Melanie and Henry are both on the resident council and have already made plans to practice evacuations at Resolve Harmony. As for Olive Ridge in Peoria, fire and police are investigating what happened inside the apartment that led to the deaths of the Kaluzas.

"Our thoughts are with the family and loved ones affected by this tragic incident. We appreciate the efforts of our officers, Peoria Fire-Medical, and our neighboring fire agencies as the investigation remains ongoing," Peoria Police said. 

Both fires remain under investigation. 

Map of Olive Ridge Senior Living.

Map of the Resolve Harmony Center.