ON THE SCENE

At the time of the fire, St. John’s Regional Fire Department platoon chief Mike Hall told Saltwire Network and other media it appeared a patient somehow started a fire in a garbage can in their thirdfloor room. The blaze became large enough to cause damage to the room, and set off several sprinklers in the area, which then flooded that section and caused water to leak onto floors beneath. Complicating matters, the sprinklers continued to function after the fire was extinguished, and maintenance staff were unable to quickly locate a shutoff valve to stem the flow of water. Firefighters worked in the room and broke out a window to ventilate the area.

Though the services at the Waterford were restored within days, the upheaval included disruption to the physician on-call facilities.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but do you know the ETA on the physician on-call rooms reopening? I know priority has been getting inpatient units back up and running, but they are on site 24/7 and have been sleeping on a stretcher in an office for the past few days. Any information you can share would be greatly appreciated,” Tucker inquired of regional director of support services Steven Lockyer.

By supper-hour the day after the fire, the smell of mould and mildew was “beyond strong” in the centre block of the hospital.

“Not sure if there is anything we can do, get some fans, open windows, etc., but it’s incredibly strong. I can only compare to rotten potatoes,” Lockyer was told in an email.

Saltwire Network contacted Eastern Health seeking comment on the matter, but did not receive a response prior to deadline on Thursday, June 30.