Hospital/Care Facility, Hospital/Medical Clinic Spencer, IA – Sprinkler system extinguished fire sparks at hospital; No injuries reported January 24, 2019 viking210 Staff were cleaning areas of Spencer Hospital Tuesday impacted by smoke damage from a small equipment fire Monday night. Hospital officials said they hope to reopen the surgical center, the area of the hospital where the fire broke out, later this week. Scheduled procedures were canceled Tuesday and Wednesday. All other hospital services were available Tuesday. “Caring for our patients is always our number one priority and today we also had team members busy cleaning areas within the hospital which were impacted by smoke damage, sterilizing equipment and replacing linens,” Spencer Hospital President Bill Bumgarner said in a statement Tuesday. Bumgarner said the surgical center will reopen once a deep-cleaning process is completed and approval is received from the state fire marshal’s office and the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, which oversees healthcare facilities in the state. Shortly after 5 p.m. Monday, a hospital staff member in the surgical equipment sterilization area smelled smoke and noticed sparks escaping from one of the washer units. A fire alarm was pulled and the sparks were extinguished by the sprinkler system by the time firefighters arrived. Due to the spread of smoke in other areas of the hospital, 16 patients were transferred to neighboring facilities. No one was injured as a result of the fire.
