Investigators say a cigarette sparked a fire in one of the residents' rooms at the Carolina Rest Home near Highway 48. The south wing of the rest home was destroyed.
Four residents were taken to Halifax Regional Medical Center for smoke inhalation. One worker was treated for having breathing problems. They were all treated and released from the hospital.
Virginia Jones had been at the rest home for five years. Her daughter, Sue McElwee, says Jones probably lost everything she had in the fire.
"She had some hard times, but she has always bounced back," she says. "She is that type of person, and she will bounce back from this."
"She heard the alarm go off and her room was pretty close to the door.
The other 36 residents were evacuated to William R. Davies Middle School. They were later taken to a rest home in Henderson.
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