160 patients evacuated from Brockton Hospital to escape the city’s first 10-alarm fire
No injuries or deaths were reported.
About 160 patients were evacuated from Brockton Hospital after a fire broke out in the transformer room of the hospital Tuesday morning. Patients were relocated to other area hospitals and no injuries or deaths were reported.
The emergency response required 77 ambulances, six wheelchair vans, 31 fire engines, and seven ladders from emergency departments across southeastern Massachusetts, according to the Brockton Fire Department.
Brockton Mayor Robert Sullivan said during a news conference Tuesday afternoon that this was the city’s first-ever 10-alarm fire. Sullivan said he was grateful and proud that first responders were able to prevent any injuries or deaths while they were getting the fire under control.
Brockton Fire Chief Brian Nardelli said during the news conference that the state Department of Fire Services had a mobilization plan in place for such an event, and that it is because of this that first responders were able to evacuate everyone from the hospital without any injuries or deaths.
“This went as smoothly as it possibly could,” he said.
Signature Healthcare, which owns and operates Brockton Hospital, said in a statement Tuesday that the fire started around 8 a.m. and forced National Grid to shut off the power.
Photos from the scene show that firefighters had responded to the fire and declared two alarms by 7:50 a.m. The Boston Globe reported that the fire began around 7 a.m.
The number of alarms kept climbing from there. By 8:10 a.m., three alarms had been declared, by 9 a.m., four alarms had been declared, by 9:25 a.m., six alarms, by 10:15 a.m., eight alarms, and by 10:30 a.m., nine alarms.
Finally, by 12:20 p.m., the tenth and final alarm had been struck, but the fire was knocked down.
Firefighters and other first responders from all over southeastern Massachusetts provided mutual aid to the Brockton Fire Department. Nardelli said during the news conference that ambulances responded from as far north as Brookline and as far south as Cape Cod.
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Signature Healthcare CEO Robert Haffey said during the news conference that the hospital was contacting patients’ families to let them know what hospital their family member had been relocated to.
If your family member was being treated at Brockton Hospital and you are not sure where they are now being treated, Haffey said to call 617-370-5971.
It is still unclear what caused the fire, but as of Tuesday afternoon, firefighters said they believe it was an accident. Massachusetts State Police are assisting in the investigation.
While most of the damage to the hospital occurred in the basement near the transformer room, Haffey said it is unclear when the hospital will be able to reopen. All elective procedures scheduled at the hospital have been canceled through Friday.