Nurse Saves Woman from Fire at Assisted Living Facility

A nurse at Christopher House in Wenatchee, WA, is being praised for her quick thinking and bravery after rescuing a resident from a fire Sunday evening.

At around 5:57 p.m., Wenatchee Valley Firefighters responded to a reported fire on the second floor of the Christopher House, an assisted living facility and outpatient behavioral health agency located at 100 S. Cleveland Ave. The five-story building houses approximately 70 residents.

Nurse Intervenes Before Firefighters Arrive

When firefighters arrived, they found a nurse—identified as Kayla Houck—near the stairwell with the resident, reportedly a woman in her 50s, she had just pulled from the burning apartment.

According to Wenatchee Valley Fire Chief Brian Brett, Houck acted immediately when the fire alarm went off. She checked the alarm panel to locate the source, then grabbed a fire extinguisher and headed to the smoke-filled room.

Brett told NWLIFE, “She enters the room, can’t see anything, discharges the fire extinguisher and locates the patient on the bed,” then Houck dragged the woman across the floor and out into the hallway before meeting firefighters at the stairwell, where they took over care.

Fire Contained

The fire began when the resident, who was using a nasal cannula for oxygen therapy, lit a cigarette while in bed.

“That is a bad combination,” Brett said.

Thanks to an overhead sprinkler, the fire was contained to the resident’s room. Fire crews say the flames caused moderate smoke damage and cracked one of the apartment windows.

Firefighters stayed on-site for roughly 90 minutes. During that time, crews:

• Ventilated the building
  
  
• Conducted air monitoring
  
  
• Removed water from affected areas
  
  
• Ensured the structure was safe and stable

Resident Airlifted

After being rescued, the woman was taken to Central Washington Hospital. She was later airlifted to Harborview Medical Center for further treatment. There has been no official update on her condition.

Nurse Praised for Heroism

Chief Brett commended Houck for her courage saying, “Kayla’s acts of heroism are above and beyond any emergency protocol. She disregarded her own safety to save an occupant of the establishment she works at and we can’t thank her enough.”

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