St. Clare-Newport (R.I.) nursing home and assisted-living facility evacuated 87 residents Jan. 22 due to a gas service shutdown, reports The Newport Daily News.
St. Clare relies on natural gas to heat the building, heat its water and power its stoves. The facility's gas provider, National Grid, shut down gas service to 7,100 customers due to low pressurization of gas lines.
St. Clare transported 54 nursing home residents and 33 assisted-living residents to other facilities across the state, according to administrator Mary Beth Daigneault. The remaining assisted-living residents were picked up by family members.
"We didn't want to evacuate residents to other Aquidneck Island communities because of the uncertainly about the gas supply situation on the island," Ms. Daigneault told The Newport Daily News. "We don't want to have to evacuate our residents twice."