Fire, smoke and water damage are keeping people from moving back to a Macedonia rehab and nursing care facility.
People who live at the Avenue at Macedonia Care and Rehabilitation Center are now spread out at sister facilities until fire officials figure out what caused Friday’s fire and when it’s safe to return.
Macedonia police released dash camera video from when its officers rushed to the scene.
The video shows thick black smoke coming from the roof.
A 911 caller asks for help from inside the facility as fire alarms go off. The caller tells a dispatcher they’re trying to get people out.
Caleb Vickers lives down the street and said he was rerouted around all the emergency vehicles.
“They were loading people into vans,” Vickers said.
92 people displaced by fire at Macedonia rehab center.
On Monday, a restoration company was on the scene, and the lobby smelled like smoke.
The facility administrator would not go on camera but said her focus was on the people they serve and following up with families.
Macedonia Mayor Nick Molnar was home on a day off when he got the call about the fire. He saw the smoke from his house and rushed over.
"We were pushing them in their wheelchairs, we were pushing the beds,” Molnar said.
Molnar expressed how proud he was of his staff, who he says dropped everything they were doing to help.
"Got blankets and tried to do everything they could to keep them warm and comfortable because it was a little chilly that day, the wind was blowing,” Molnar said.
For the mayor, it wasn’t just comforting strangers, but family, as his sister-in-law has been at the Avenue for a while.
"She’s good, she's a character, they love her,” Molnar said.
He says she wasn’t scared.
"No, she’s built a little different. She has a very fun demeanor, soon as I walked up to her, she said, 'Hey Nick, what’s going on?'" Molnar said.
News 5 Investigators found the facility has a two out of five-star rating with Medicare. Its last fire inspection was in February 2025 and had two deficiencies noted, including not having enough simulated fire drills at unexpected times and failing to test the maintenance of fire doors by qualified people.
The issues were corrected within two months.
The mayor says he doesn’t get complaints from the facility.
"So, regardless of rankings and ratings, I really don’t care about any of that. What I care about is no one got hurt as the safety director of this city, that’s what’s most important to me,” Molnar said.
Molnar says 92 people have been shifted to other Avenue facilities or something similar in Northeast Ohio. The State Fire Marshal’s Fire and Explosions Investigations Bureau is investigating the fire along with Macedonia Fire. According to the fire marshal’s office, the fire originated on a rooftop HVAC unit.
"We’re not going to let them get back in there unless the state fire marshal says it’s good and we inspect it,” Molnar said.
