Sunday, September 5, 2021

Local 501 Members to the Rescue!

On July 29, 2021, Local 501 members employed by Gateway Lodge Assisted Living Residences came to the rescue of residents when a fire started in one of the resident’s units

The resident was cooking bacon on the stove when it caught fire. The resident tried to smother the fire with a towel but it only made things worse.

Local 501 members Kamalpreet Rand-hawa, Florida Amistoso, and Cheryl Grant quickly sprang into action, working hard to contain the fire and evacuate the residents.

“I noticed smoke coming from room, and I ran toward the resident’s unit along with my coworkers Flo and Cheryl,” says Kamalpreet, a personal care assistant with Gateway. “We saw smoke in the kitchen. There was fire on top of the stove, so I quickly grabbed the fire extinguisher to try and put it out while Flo got the resident out of the unit. Cheryl tried to call 911 but it was busy.

“My coworkers and I worked fast to try to get the first floor residents evacuated out of the building. Then we moved to the second floor. We had difficulty getting one of the residents out because they had blocked the door.

“The smoke was coming up quickly and it was hard for us to see, so we broke down the door and got the resident out. We managed to get everyone out of the second floor and worked on trying to get as many residents out as possible. Raj [Raj Dhesi, former director of care] managed to call 911, and within 15 minutes the fire department arrived.”

“We have fire drills at work but this was the first time I experienced a real fire.

I am glad were able to handle it.”

Local 501 is proud of these members at the Gateway whose quick thinking and actions saved the day!

Local 501 Members to the Rescue!

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