Small fire at nursing home injures four

A small fire at the Ballard Nursing Center in unincorporated Cook County near Des Plaines sent four people to the hospital Thursday morning.

The fire was largely extinguished by a sprinkler in the room where it started, officials said.

Three of the people hospitalized at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge were nursing home residents who suffered from smoke inhalation, said Ben Breit, director of communications for the Cook County Sheriff's Office. The fourth person hospitalized was an employee who sprained an ankle while helping evacuate others.

Information about the current condition of the four injured people was not immediately available, Breit said.

Because the fire was relatively small, residents and employees did not have to evacuate the building during this morning's subzero temperatures, he added.

Deputy Fire Chief Robert McKay of the North Maine Fire Protection District said the fire was reported at approximately 8:15 a.m. and fully extinguished shortly after firefighters arrived.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but the nursing center at 9300 W. Ballard Road is open for residents and staff, McKay said.