Dozens Escape Fire at Edmonds Alzheimer's Care Facility

Dozens of residents at Rosewood Courte Memory Center escaped injuries in an early-morning blaze that was quickly extinguished by a fire sprinkler.

Firefighters responded to the 700 block of Edmonds Way at around 2:25 a.m. Saturday and found smoke in a locked laundry room, according to a news release from Snohomish County Fire District 1. The blaze started in a commercial dryer, but a sprinkler had shattered the machine's glass door and extinguished the fire.

No injuries were reported.

“The building’s fire sprinkler system really made a big difference in the outcome of this fire. It kept the fire from spreading, prevented injuries and limited damage,” Leslie Hynes, public information officer for Snohomish County Fire District 1, said in a news release.

Rosewood Courte provides 24-hour care to 34 people with Alzheimer's Disease and other forms of memory loss. Residents were able to return to their rooms at around 5 a.m., after firefighters had cleared smoke from the building.

This is not the first time a fire sprinkler has extinguished a blaze at Rosewood Courte, fire officials said. In August 2011, a sprinkler put out a fire in a hot water tank near the facility's kitchen.