Firefighters in the East Bay were forced to initiate a partial evacuation of a Hayward convalescent home Tuesday afternoon after a small fire broke out.

The Alameda County Fire Department was called to the Driftwood Healthcare Center on Hesparian Boulevard around 2:30 pm on a report of a fire.

"Upon arrival, crews encountered smoke and fire originating in the basement that had extended into the roof area of the building," the fire department says in a social media post. "As a precaution, 18 residents were temporarily evacuated to the front of the convalescent home while firefighters conducted an aggressive interior fire attack and checked the building for fire extension and air quality concerns."

As KPIX reports, some of those 18 residents were evacuated in beds or wheelchairs.

"They were very professional about it," says one of those evacuees, named John, speaking to KPIX. "Got all the people out that were in the gurneys and stuff like that, that were permanently in bed and can't get up or nothing like that. They moved them out real fast."

The fire reportedly originated in a basement laundry room in the facility. No injuries were reported.