Fire at Belle Plaine senior living facility displaces 67 residents

On Friday afternoon, fire restoration crews were seen at a senior care facility housing 67 people in Belle Plaine, Minnesota. The building caught fire earlier in the day. 

Many are without homes due to the flames.

"It's scary to be torn out of your bed in the middle of the night," said Vanessa Ezell, the Senior human resources director of Kingsway Senior Living. Ezell says employees executed fire drill duties shortly after midnight on Friday. Everyone survived.

"Everyone's worst nightmare, but best-case scenario," said Ezell.

The facility says although the investigation continues, they do know where the fire started: on the third floor inside a laundry room.

"We cannot thank the responders for getting here as fast as they did. And they just took charge," said Ezell.

Kingsway Senior Living says more than six fire departments responded in the middle of the night and says it took a village to relocate everyone to Belle Blaine High School for temporary shelter. Many, but not all, have either been relocated to partner facilities or reunited with loved ones for the time being.

"It just proved to us that our due diligence and our training work," Ezell added, saying it's a situation they prepare for monthly.

"It's not just these particular people either. Their families, guardians, staff were affected," she told WCCO.

It's unknown how long it will be until the people impacted can return.

"We're planning for long term and hoping for short term at this point," said Ezell. "We are a Christian facility, so we always lean on God to help keep us strong and keep us together moving forward."

If you're looking to help, Kingsway Senior Living says it needs your prayers right now. Once the facility learns more, it will communicate its needs.