Category Archives: Hospital/Care Facility

Other - Hospital/Medical

Henrico, VA – Overnight arson fire “mostly extinguished” by sprinkler system

A woman has been charged with arson after crews extinguished a fire at a Henrico doctor’s office Tuesday morning.

Crews responded to 10200 Three Chopt Road for a fire alarm at 3:03 a.m. Tuesday. First arriving units reported smoke coming from the front of the structure upon arrival. Inside the office, fire crews found fire that had been mostly extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system. The sprinklers kept the fire minimized and the fire was marked under control at 3:26 a.m.

While checking the property, officers on scene located a window where entry was made into the building. Police stopped an SUV leaving the scene of the incident and identified the operator as 46-year-old Deana Annette Clements of Crozier, Virginia. Officers say they found evidence inside the vehicle that implicated Clements in the burglary and arson.

After a joint investigation between the Henrico County Police Division and the Henrico County Division of Fire, Clements was charged with trespassing, burglary, possession of burglary tools, vandalism and arson.

There was minor smoke, water, and fire damage done to the building. The business was not occupied at the time of the fire and there were no injuries.

 

Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic

Halifax, NS, Canada – No one injured after sprinklers activate in fire on seventh floor of mental hospital

The Nova Scotia Health Authority says it could take weeks to rebuild two floors damaged after a small fire at the Abbie J. Lane building of the QEII Health Sciences Centre in Halifax.

The fire started at around 7:20 p.m. on Wednesday in a patient’s room, said Everton McLean, a spokesperson for the health authority. 

The fire was contained and no one was injured, but it triggered the sprinkler system and the water damaged all units on the sixth and seventh floors. Patients needing mental health care are treated on those floors. 

McLean says it will take a while to repair the rooms. 

“In those situations where we get water into the drywall, it causes issues because you have to replace drywall,” he said Thursday.

“It depends on the level of damage when maintenance crews find when we get in there, but right now we’re thinking it’s going to be several weeks.”

Most of the patients were given temporary accommodations at the Abbie J. Lane building on Wednesday night. Others were relocated to other sites at the Nova Scotia Hospital on Thursday morning.

Their families were notified, the health authority said, adding that new patients may be admitted outside the immediate area because of reduced bed availability at the Abbie J. Lane building.

The health authority says it is working to maintain services for new and existing patients.

Meanwhile, McLean says an investigation is underway to determine how the fire started. 

Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic

Wichita, KS – Sprinklers keep fire from spreading at hospital

(** Blog Note – Sprinklers do not activate by smoke; Only the substantial heat from a significant fire **)  Fire crews responded to Via Christi St. Francis hospital Sunday evening after smoke from a trash dumpster fire caused sprinklers to go off at the facility.  Dispatch reported smoke on the south side of the hospital where the trash dumpster is located. The fire did not spread to the building. 

Wichita Police provided traffic control near the scene. Roads were not closed, but part of Santa Fe was partially blocked near the hospital. 

Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic

Grand Terrace, CA – Attic fire at convalescent hospital contained by sprinkler system

An attic fire prompted a precautionary evacuation at a Grand Terrace convalescent hospital, say San Bernardino County Fire Department officials.

The blaze was reported at 7:36 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 9, at Grand Terrace Health Care Center, 12000 Mount Vernon Ave., about a block north of Barton Road.

The first firefighters to arrive were the crew of Medic Engine 213 who reported smoke billowing from the roof, said Battalion Chief Dan Filter.

“We evacuated a wing because there was fire in the attic,” he said.

The building’s sprinkler system prevented the flames from spreading.

Firefighters climbed ladders to the top of the one-story building and cut a hole in the roof so they could extinguish the flames.

No one was hurt. The cause of the fire wasn’t immediately determined.

Hospital/Care Facility, Residential

New Brighton, PA – Sprinkler system douses fire at residential facility for the physically and developmentally challenged

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About 50 residents were evacuated from their rooms Monday night after an electrical fire in a residence wing of McGuire Memorial Home. The fire broke out around 11 p.m. in a laundry room at the home, 2119 Mercer Road, Daugherty Township, according to Daugherty Township Fire Chief Brad Stone. An electrical short in a window fan sparked the fire, which Stone said was extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system before firefighters arrived.

Because of smoke in the area, residents of one apartment wing were evacuated to another part of the building but returned to their homes about an hour later. No one was injured. Firefighters from Daugherty, Pulaski and North Sewickley townships and New Brighton responded to the fire call.

McGuire Memorial is a ministry of the Felician Sisters of North America and the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese. It provides services for people with mental and physical disabilities and for their families and caregivers.

Adult Care/Rehab Center, Hospital/Care Facility

Howell, MI – Laundry fire at rehabilitation center controlled with help from sprinkler system

A sprinkler system and a fast-acting Livingston County Sheriff’s Department deputy contributed to containing a fire at a Howell Township rehabilitation center late Tuesday evening.

Chief Andy Pless of the Howell Area Fire Department said the fire in the laundry room of the White Pine Rehabilitation and Care Center of Howell at 3003 W. Grand River Ave. was reported just before 11 p.m. Tuesday.

“An on-duty sheriff’s deputy made entry into the basement and put it out with a fire extinguisher as we were arriving,” the fire chief noted. “We cleaned up the mess.”

Pless said the center’s sprinkler system also did its job, helping to contain the fire.  When the alarm first sounded, White Pine staff immediately began evacuating the center’s residents. Pless said they had nearly cleared the facility when the all-clear was given for the fire call.

“White Pine did a fantastic job in getting residents in and out of harms way,” Pless said. “We were in and out in less than an hour.”

White Pine administrator Jackie Jones said she could not comment and referred inquiries to the regional director, who did not return a message seeking comment.

According to its website, the more than 2,000-square-foot center “specializes in medically complex and short-term rehabilitation” and offers long-term care for those recovering from surgery or illness or need rehabilitation.

Hospital/Care Facility, Other - Hospital/Medical

Valdosta, GA – Laundry fire at health care facility suppressed by sprinkler system

Laundry which overheated in a commercial dryer caused a fire at Pruitt Health at Crestwood at 415 Pendleton Place on Sunday about 6:30. VFD Captain James Clinkscales said that fire personnel responded to a structure fire with sprinkler activation, and the small laundry room fire was extinguished by the sprinkler system. Fire crews assisted with the evacuation and water removal.

Fourteen firefighters responded to the scene and were able to control the incident quickly, and no one in the facility was displaced by this incident, and no injuries were reported. 

Hospital/Care Facility, Other - Hospital/Medical

Rochester, MN – Sprinkler system douses fire at Mayo support facility; No injuries reported

Rochester Fire Department responded to the Mayo Support Center Thursday morning after a piece of machinery that cleans the floor caught fire. “We showed up and they had a smoke haze in the building. The building was investigated and found that in the maintenance area, a piece of maintenance equipment had malfunctioned during charging and caused a small fire, which initiated the sprinkler system, which almost completely extinguished the fire” said Chuck Solseth, the Rochester Fire Department Acting Battalion Chief.

 Initially, one fire engine and the battalion chief car responded to the fire alarm; however, two more engines were called in after the discovery of smoke being produced.  Crews went in with a carbon dioxide extinguisher and put out what the sprinklers couldn’t.

Solseth said this type of fire does not happen very often. “It’s not very common for things to just catch fire while they’re in there charging. It does happen on occasion. But that’s why it’s important that we monitor what’s going on. Pieces of the equipment that you’re charging, if they’re abnormally warm or making any type of odd odors or sounds, may be reason to unplug it and investigate it further,” said Solseth.

Solseth added that when plastic pieces catch fire, like that of the floor cleaning machinery, it can prove to be detrimental. “The plastics create/release chemicals. The smoke itself will have carbon monoxide in it because of the products of combustion. We ventilated the structure out, used our respiratory equipment, so that we could access the area, ventilated it out, and then verified it with air monitors that there was no more hazard for us,” said Solseth.

Employees of the Mayo Support Center were evacuated until around 12:30 p.m. Thursday.

Hospital/Care Facility, Other - Hospital/Medical

Brainerd, MN – Sprinklers activate to help control intentionally set fire at behavior health center

A subject allegedly lit her bed on fire and ran away from the behavioral health inpatient unit – also known as the grace unit – at Essentia Health-St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Brainerd, leaving hospital staff scrambling to make sure patients were safe.

Brainerd police and fire personnel were dispatched to a fire alarm at 7 p.m. Monday at the hospital, 523 North Third St., Brainerd. While en route to the alarm, it was reported a bed was lit on fire and it appeared the fire was intentionally set to facilitate an escape from the locked unit at the hospital.

Dr. Pete Henry, chief medical officer of the central region and an emergency room physician at Essentia Health-St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Brainerd, said hospital staff immediately contained the fire and ensured patients’ safety. The locked unit was closed down and 12 patients were moved to other parts of the hospital. Thirteen patients on the telemetry unit and 13 patients from the surgery unit also were moved to different locations to ensure their safety.

Henry said water from the sprinkler system damaged three floors below the behavioral health inpatient unit: the telemetry unit, inpatient surgery unit and the outpatient cardiovascular unit. Henry said the sprinkler system also was damaged during the incident and was repaired about an hour later.

Henry did not know what the estimated cost was from the fire and water damage from the sprinkler system. “It’s too soon to tell,” he said. Henry said all the service areas damaged Monday night at the hospital are up and running, except the inpatient care in the grace unit. Henry hopes the unit will be up and running as soon as possible, but he could not say an exact date. Henry said the dozen patients were moved to another location at the hospital or to another mental health facility in the state.

Essentia Health has two locations for its psychiatry patients, one on the fourth floor at the hospital and another at the Brainerd clinic. The clinic provides outpatient psychiatry services, including psychotherapy, medication management and electroconvulsive therapy services for children, adolescents and adults. “In the meantime we won’t be accepting any new patients,” Henry said of the behavioral health inpatient unit.

Brainerd police received additional information about a suspect and learned the suspect and potentially two accomplices had fled the area in a vehicle. The information about the suspects and a vehicle description was sent out in a state-wide alert. At about 11 p.m., authorities learned police in Becker had located the vehicle and three occupants were taken into custody without incident.

One of the parties involved was identified as a 17-year-old juvenile female from Brainerd. She was arrested and transported to a juvenile detention center in Grand Rapids. The two other individuals were identified as Raegan Sjolund, 18, and Jonathn Erickson, 24. Sjolund and Erickson were brought to the Sherburne County Jail where they are awaiting transfer to the Crow Wing County Jail.

Brainerd police report the juvenile and Sjolund were each arrested for damaging property, escaping from custody and first-degree arson. Erickson was arrested for damaging property and first-degree arson.

This incident will be referred to the Crow Wing County Attorney’s Office for review pending formal charges. The investigation remains ongoing and anyone with additional information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Brainerd Police Department at 218-829-2805.

Office Building, Other - Hospital/Medical

Elgin, IL – Sprinklers douse fire at medical building; Cause may have been lightning strike

Lightning may have started a small fire Friday in a northwest suburban medical office building, where an internal sprinkler system doused the flames before firefighters arrived. Elgin firefighters were called just before 7 a.m. Friday to the medical building at 1015 Summit St. after an employee arriving for work called to report a fire alarm going off, according to a statement from the Elgin Fire Department.

Firefighters heard a strobe horn going off, and saw water flowing out from an exterior door, but saw no smoke or flames. When the door was forced open, firefighters found that a fire had started in the telecommunications equipment and activated the sprinkler above. Investigators determined the cause of the blaze was “either an electrical issue or a lightning strike,” which caused the telecommunications equipment to catch fire until it grew strong enough to set off the sprinkler.

The alarm signal directly into the fire department did not activate because it is the telecommunications equipment that activates it, according to the department, which recommended a wireless system be installed. Fire and smoke damage to the building and contents was minimal, but the “building was determined to be unsafe due to an inoperative alarm, inactive sprinkler system, and unknown electrical conditions’ and consequently red-tagged,” the department said. City Code Enforcement inspectors were notified. No injuries were reported.