Five elderly group home residents hospitalized for smoke inhalation

Five occupants of a group home in Montgomery County were taken to a hospital Friday morning after an oil furnace malfunctioned in their basement, officials said.

Three of them suffered from smoke inhalation, but all the injuries were considered non-life threatening, said Capt. Oscar Garcia, a spokesman for the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service.

There were a total of eight occupants inside the home, all elderly, Garcia said. The remaining three were taken to a nearby facility.

Firefighters were called to the home, in the 13400 block of Clifton Road, in Colesville, shortly after 7:30 a.m. A total of 60 firefighters eventually were on the scene. On the way, one of them saw a school bus that had completed its run, and commandeered it, figuring they would need a wheelchair lift, Garcia said.

The group home occupants were placed inside the bus while firefighters controlled the smoke. The home wasn’t badly damaged, Garcia said.

-- Dan Morse