UPDATED: 10:14 p.m., Thursday:
Fire Marshal Jim McGuire said emergency officials and Pennwood Village management are set to meet Friday morning to determine if residents evacuated from the facility can return.
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The nursing and skilled care units are being powered and operated with help from a mobile hospital trailer and support equipment brought in from Montgomery County.
McGuire said township emergency responders often go over plans and drill with senior living communities and medical facilities to prepare for emergencies. On Tuesday, Pennwood Village staff took part in a tabletop drill with the township.
Original Post:
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A large number of senior citizens were displaced due to a fire in an electrical system and a power outage in Middletown.
Officials were called to the Pennswood Village retirement and nursing community off Newtown-Langhorne Road Thursday afternoon for an electrical fire that impacted the high-voltage system and backup generators.
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Due to the cold temperatures and lack of power, authorities made the decision to evacuate several hundred residents to the nearby George School dorms and local hotels, Langhorne-Middletown Fire Company Chief Frank Farry said.
The assisted-living portion of the campus was able to remain in place and those residents were safe, said Andy Foley, chief of the Penndel-Middletown Emergency Squad.
Clearing residents from the buildings that had no electric service took several hours. Many of the residents left with family, friends or in their own vehicles. Others were shuttled in a Pennswood Village bus and ambulances from the Penndel-Middletown Emergency Squad were called in, Farry said.
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Firefighters, medics, community staff and the fire marshal’s office worked into the evening to deal with the evacuation.
Power was restored by late evening Thursday, but officials said the majority of residents will stay at the George School campus or hotels until crews are certain the lights and heat will stay on.
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