Fire at Brockton Hospital forces evacuation of 160 patients
BROCKTON, Mass. (WJAR) — A fire in the transformer room at Brockton Hospital prompted a massive response Tuesday.
Power to the entire building had to be cut, and all 160 patients evacuated.
"As we were fighting the fire on this side, we basically cut the building in half and operated the removal of all the patients that needed to go safely from the front of the hospital away from any of the toxins that were throughout the building," said Fire Chief Brian Nardelli.
Seventy-seven ambulances and dozens of first responders throughout the region were called in to help.
Cheryl Kemlage; Bridgewater MA
"It's insane. This is beautiful. They're all here to help. People are from everywhere," said Cheryl Kemlage of Bridegewater.
The neighboring school of nursing also chipping in.
"There's a sense of people trying to jump in and help as best they can," said Ingrid Dybvik, instructor at the Brockton Hospital School of Nursing. "I'm really proud of the nursing students because it looks like, you know, when they were able those that were assigned to clinical, they've been very helpful in trying to establish order."
Patients were taken to various Massachusetts hospitals all the way from Boston to Cape Cod.
Throughout the entire process, not a single person was injured.
"I do want to also compliment and stress how brave the nursing staff and other staff in the hospital were. They did an incredible job. I was up on the floors with them as they were moving patients. Just an incredible sight to see the team work that occurred today," said Robert Haffey, president and CEO of Signature Healthcare.
The incident is now under investigation.
"At this juncture, we do not believe this was anything other than accidental. We're looking at, there's severe damage to the electrical room, the main electrical room serving the main hospital, and that's where the focus is," said Peter Ostroskey; State Fire Marshal
It's unclear how long the hospital will remain closed.