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10/05/2021 12:00 AMAn August inspection that uncovered 19 violations at Caroline Manor, an assisted living facility at 37 Clark Avenue in East Haven, was followed by two employee overdoses on the premises on Sept. 22, resulting in an expedited subsequent inspection by the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH). That inspection, which found no improvements had been made, led to the arrest of the property owner.
“Fire Marshal Charles A. Miller put forth exhaustive effort in the enforcement action, coordinating with Department of Public Health Life Safety Officials and the Ombudsman’s Office,” said East Haven Fire Department (EHFD) Chief Matt Marcarelli.
The second inspection was originally scheduled for Oct. 6, but was expedited to Sept. 23. It showed that none of the 19 violations discovered during the initial inspection had been corrected. Six residents were relocated to other facilities as a result of the re-inspection with eight residents remaining on the premises, according to Marcarelli.
The violations led to the arrest of the facility’s owner, Timothy Conroy of Higganum, on Sept. 28. Conroy was charged with violation of fire safety code. He was released on a $20,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 23.
“The life safety violations, which included required exits which had been removed, were deemed serious enough to require voluntary relocation of some occupants,” said Marcarelli. “Since no corrective action was taken since the initial inspection, coupled with the recent events [employee overdose incident on Sept. 22], it required expedited action by the housing court. Some of the occupants of the facility require assistance and may have impediments to self-evacuating. Because of their conditions, adequate exits in the event of an emergency situation are a necessity.
“We discovered that exits were deliberately removed without going through the approval process,” Marcarelli said.
The initial inspection took place on Aug. 26 after the EHFD was contact by the DPH. Marcarelli noted this was the first time the EHFD had been contacted with concerns about Caroline Manor.
“Due to the potential for flooding evacuation, DPH contacted us because they learned the on-site generator was not functioning, which prompted the inspection,” Marcarelli said.
On Sept. 22, the East Haven Police Department (EHPD) received a 911 call from a visiting nurse just after 3 p.m. The visiting nurse, who was checking on a patient, found the only two employees at the facility unresponsive and had overdosed on what was later determined to be fentanyl.
The EHFD found a male employee apparently suffering from an accidental overdose in a lower level office and a female employee suffering from an overdose on the main floor. EHFD personnel administered Narcan to both before they were taken to Yale New Haven Hospital.
The facility did not have any other staff on site during this incident and while this was occurring patients were left with no supervision, according to EHPD. EHPD Investigative Services Division found and seized narcotics, which were in plain view when officers and EHFD personnel arrived. No patients were injured during this incident, which remains under investigation.