Family of a 100 -year -old man left for Altadena Senior Home calls for reforms

On the morning of January 8, Jean Bruce Poole woke up in his apartment Altadena Independent Living at Montecedro’s retirement home, and like any other day, she dressed and ate her breakfast.

The 100 -year -old woman knew she couldn’t hear the nearby neighborhood big.

Nor did she know that she was almost entirely alone.

“They left my mother,” said Poole’s son John Ward, in an interview with The Times. He called what happened to his mother during the early hours of the Eaton Fire a “terrible rupture” which requires a complete examination and several reforms to make sure that it does not happen again.

Fortunately, while Poole found it difficult to find his way through the dark and smoked corridors of the installation with his walker – more than three hours after the evacuation of the rest of the senior house – two deputies of the sheriff of the county of los Angeles found it.

“By the grace of God, within 30 minutes after being disoriented in the corridor, she hears:” Hello hello “,” said Ward. “Can you imagine … if they have never crossed?” … There are so many good lucky things that have come together to save her. »»

Ward tries not to think of what could have happened if these two deputies had not been sent to make a last scan in the building. Images of body cameras of the meeting showed that the two deputies found for the first time another elderly resident trying to walk his dog, before locating Poole on the third floor of the dark and empty building. In the video, Poole begs the deputies to help: “Don’t lose me!” The centenary said.

The deputies were able to bring the two women safely.

Montecedro, a non -profit assisted life establishment led by episcopal communities and services, recognized that the two residents were somehow left behind during its chaotic evacuation in the middle of the night. But the non -profit association also cited its success in the trip “of nearly 200 people, some with cognitive problems or other deficiencies, far from their homes in a few hours”, according to a press release from James Rothrock, The director general of the non -profit organization.

However, he also admitted that there were “gaps in our planning and our execution that we work to understand and correct”.

Charlie Rahilly, an official of Episcopal Communities & Services, said that the non-profit organization had “kept a national fire and security consulting company to carry out an in-depth examination of the events that evening and early in the morning ”.

The virtual tragedy of this assisted center of life punctuates only an increasing list of problems and concerns concerning random evacuations and bad communication that occurred on the west side of Altadena the night when the fire Eaton exploded. There, the evacuation orders occurred at least eight hours – if not more – after alerts were issued for residents living east of North Lake Avenue, and well after the flames threatened the area, according to a Times investigation.

The late evacuation order seemed to add to Chaos in Montèdedro; Officials of the assisted life installation noted in their declaration that his team worked with firefighters to monitor the situation and finally started the evacuations before their prescription. However, the installation is located in an area that received the last departure orders, published just before 6 am on January 8, according to the files of archived alerts. A block in the east, residents were invited to evacuate 11 a.m. earlier, at 7:30 p.m. on January 7.

At least 17 people died in the fire, which were all found west of Lake Avenue, and more than 9,000 structures have burned, although Montecedro is not among them.

Comté officials called for an external examination of evacuation alerts and why the West Altadena arrived so late.

However, Ward said it was not an excuse about the way Montecedro staff responded to the emergency, since they were responsible for the security of a vulnerable population and that there were Indications that the flames were near the establishment at the start of the evening of January 7.

“At 10 am, you should have had everyone with their packaged bags,” said Ward. “Do not wait until the fire beats on your door.”

Jason Montiel, spokesperson for the State Social Services Department, which authorized Montcedro, more recently in 2023, said that the agency is carrying out an investigation into what happened in the establishment, but refused to comment more. When asked for five other lively assisted or nursing home centers, where videos also captured chaotic evacuations, Montiel said that none was a fire -related investigation. But he refused to confirm whether houses in the region were investigated.

Some families from other residents of Montecedro have echoed Ward’s concerns concerning the lack of emergency preparations and leadership failures of the establishment the night of fire – something Tony Chicotel, Senior Lawyer for Defenders California for the reform of nursing homes should be a summit of mind. For suppliers.

“The facilities are supposed to be prepared for this kind,” said Chiccotel. “They are supposed to drill for it. … No one should have been left behind, it is a catastrophic failure. »»

He underlined a similar chaotic evacuation of a care establishment for the elderly of Santa Rosa during the fire of Tubbs 2017, which also led to a state investigation which finally threatened to revoke the license of the Establishment without increased emergency protocol and increased regulation. Families with dear beings who have experienced this incident have deposited several lawsuits, saying that the stress of the day has changed people forever.

Ward said he didn’t want to have a prosecution, but he must make sure that what happened to his mother does not happen to anyone else.

“I am not a disputed person, but I want a change, a concrete change,” Ward said. “I will not stop until they make all the changes I recommend.”

He wants to see Montecedro implement a series of reforms, including the formation of a family emergency notification system, the installation of a mermaid or a speaker system which can easily reach residents and Update protocols to physically check each piece before any evacuation. Montecedro officials said all the rooms had been checked before their departure, but Ward called this a lie – saying that his mother was in his room and had never found.

“It was a ventilation, they failed to react and failed to prepare,” he said. “They did not have additional staff … no family notification.”

In response to the concerns according to which the account of the installation on the evacuation included lies, Rahilly declared that they were “aware of the complaints and were in (dialogue) with the residents and the families on the details surrounding the evacuation”.

While Ward was talking about the fire near Montecedro on the evening of January 7, he said that he had registered with the staff to make sure his mother was safe.

“I was ready to drive there,” said Ward. However, he said that the staff had assured him around 9 p.m. that the building had been built to resist fire and that the fire was still far away.

But in the morning, when he returned, he obtained an update of panic: most of the care centers for the elderly had been evacuated, but his mother was not with them.

When he pressure for more details, he was told that everyone had been counted, with the exception of two residents, his mother understood.

“I jump into my car to go to Pasadena-I don’t know where I’m going to go,” he said.

Fortunately, shortly after the trip, an unknown number appeared on her phone and her mother was at stake. She confirmed that she was fine at the Pasadena Convention Center with the other woman who was left to Montecedro.

Ward pushed a sigh of relief, then recalled Montecedro staff to share where he is.

A few minutes later, he hugged his mother in his arms and brought her home, where she shared her shocking story this morning – which said Ward is still difficult to believe and more difficult to stomach.

“No one has ever contacted my mother … to apologize,” said Ward. “It’s inexcusable for me.”

He hopes Montecedro will be able to remedy the horrible episode, because in the past seven years, he said, it was a wonderful house for his mother.

“Day by day, they are phenomenal, but it takes something like that to discover (the staff of the establishment) were not prepared,” said Ward. “You have completely failed.”