Riverhead firefighters make quick stop of fire in oxygen concentrator at local nursing home

An oxygen concentrator at a Riverhead nursing home caught fire early this morning, prompting the evacuation of some residents from their rooms due to smoke conditions in part of the building.

Riverhead firefighters responded to a call for a structure fire at Acadia Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation on Woodcrest Avenue shortly after 6 a.m. Tuesday.

Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire in the oxygen concentrator machine with extinguishers, Riverhead Fire Department Chief Pete Kurzyna said. 

There were no serious injuries, though one resident and five staff members were transported to Peconic Bay Medical Center for treatment due to smoke inhalation, Riverhead Town Fire Marshal Andrew Smith said in a phone interview this afternoon.

Most of the residents of the A wing of the building, where the machine caught fire in a resident’s room, had to be evacuated due to smoke conditions, Kurzyna said. The fire department ventilated the wing to clear the smoke, the chief said.  First Assistant Chief Sean Brennan was first on scene and commanded the fire department’s operations, Kurzyna said.

“The fire department had it controlled within minutes,” Smith said. “They did a good job evacuating everyone and getting them to a safe area in another part of the building,” he said. 

The fire was contained in the room where it started, Smith said. It did not do much damage to the room. 

The TRUAIRE-5 oxygen concentrator that caught fire today was recalled by the manufacturer, the fire marshal said.

The unit in question had been involved in “seven incidents of melting and fire” during its use, according to a Nov. 26 recall notice provided to RiverheadLOCAL by the fire marshal. The recall applies to units manufactured between Nov. 3 and Dec. 7, 2023, within serial number range: JA2311000001-JA2312000740, the notice states.

Jiangsu Jumao X-Care Medical Equipment Co. Ltd. of Jiangsu Province, China voluntarily recalled the units within that serial number range. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration published the recall notice on Feb. 5.

A representative of Acadia Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation could not be reached for comment today.

The Riverhead fire marshal said he checked all other oxygen concentrators at the nursing home to make sure no other units of the recalled machine were on site. The only unit of the recalled model in the serial number range was the one that caught on fire this morning, Smith said.

The fire marshal said he also reached out to Peconic Bay Medical Center to make sure the hospital was aware of the recall. 

An oxygen concentrator is “intended to provide  supplemental oxygen to patients with respiratory disorders by separating nitrogen from room air by way of a molecular sieve,” according to the manufacturer. The devices are commonly used in a patient’s home for this purpose.

Anyone with a TruAire-5 Oxygen Concentrator at home should check the serial number as illustrated in the recall notice below on page 3.