A youth group of board gamers have rescued elderly residents from a large fire next to their nursing home and offered them shelter, blankets and tea. The young adult board game group at the Murrumbeena Uniting Church could smell smoke and ran outside. Local church member Andrew Faram and young adult pastor Kelly Skilton could see the fire from the church which was next to the nursing home. Mr Faram was the first on scene at the massive fire which he says was two storeys high and rushed to warn the sleeping elderly residents. The group of eight participating in the young adults board game night rushed in to alert everyone inside and began to help them into wheelchairs to evacuate. “Many didn’t understand what was going on, they were asleep or watching TV,” he said. “We took them all into the church and gave them blankets, tea and coffee until police and fire services arrived. “The fire seemed to have come from the electrical box between the shop and the nursing home, it was shooting sparks everywhere.” The shopfront next door had been fully engulfed by flames and caused the nursing home next door to fully evacuate staff and 25 elderly residents. Within 10 minutes all residents were safely out of the building which was metres away from the fire that was shooting sparks. Residents were placed into the care of Ambulance Victoria who treated some with minor signs of smoke inhalation and took one woman to hospital. The blaze was brought under control quickly by emergency services who arrived at the scene with nine vehicles just before 7pm Sunday.
