Ledger photos / TIM GULLA Firefighters traced a burning smell at the Brookview Healthcare Center nursing facility to an apparently faulty circuit board on a nurse call button in a patient room. There was no fire, but a carefully crafted evacuation plan was put into action and about 20 patients from the northern wing of the facility were temporarily evacuated while a strong contingent of City of Gaffney and Corinth firefighters converged on the scene. The smell of burning electronics led to a partial evacuation of the Brookview Healthcare Center nursing home on Thompson Street in Gaffney late Tuesday and a massive response from firefighters.

Fortunately, there was no fire and Gaffney Fire Chief Nathan Ellis said firefighters using a thermal imaging camera were able to trace the problem to an apparently defective nurse call button in a patient room.

Firefighters from all three city fire stations — headquarters, Overbrook and East Gaffney — as well as firefighters from neighboring Corinth Volunteer Fire Department, converged on the scene after a nurse reported the smell and sight of smoke in room 305 at the facility.

The culprit — a "fried" call button circuit board in Room 305. About 20 patients were evacuated from the northern wing of the facility, where the smoke smell was first detected and firefighters immediately made entry to determine the problem.

Capt. Robert Grigg of the Gaffney Fire Department noted the fire alarm in the building never activated.

Chief Ellis said the initial walkthrough of the building uncovered no problems and a thermal imaging camera was brought in to check for any hot spots. The camera led firefighters to a low-voltage wall-mounted nurse call button in room 305.

After it was removed from the wall, firefighters noticed the circuit board on the wallmounted call button was fried but there was no evidence of fire.

Ellis noted that firefighters saw no smoke in the building when they arrived.

A nursing supervisor said all of the evacuated patients were unharmed and in good spirits following their return to the building.

A maintenance supervisor said the low voltage nurse call buttons were installed at the facility approximately four months ago.

"The staff knew exactly what to do," Ellis said of the facility's evacuation plan that was followed to the letter. "The nursing staff did everything it was supposed to do."

Ellis said the building is constructed with fire partitions and fire-rated doors so a full evacuation wasn't called for under the circumstances.