Brockton

No Injuries After 160 Patients Evacuated During Fire at Brockton Hospital

A hazmat team has reportedly been activated, and no injuries have been reported

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Firefighters battled a fire at Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital on Tuesday morning that led to the evacuation of over 100 patients.

Hospital officials confirmed Tuesday afternoon that no one was hurt during the evacuations. Families looking for information on their loved ones can call 617-370-5971 to find out where they have been moved.

More than 100 patients had to be moved out after a fire broke out at a hospital Tuesday morning.

There were 160 patients evacuated during the response, hospital CEO Robert Haffey said. Hospital officials, fire officials and the mayor all credited good planning and collaboration for keeping the situation under control.

Brockton fire officials confirmed around 9 a.m. that they were at the scene of a fire at the hospital, located on Centre Street. Residents were asked to avoid the area.

The fire department said just before 9:30 a.m. that the fire had been knocked down and no one was injured. Evacuations were ongoing.

About 120 patients were expected to be evacuated, officials said. The city set up a family reunification hotline at 508-941-7293 for anyone looking to find their loved ones.

Power to the hospital had to be shut down due to the fire, which officials said appears to have started in the transformer room in the basement. There was currently no timeline for getting power restored to the hospital.

Nearly 200 patients have been transported out of Brockton Hospital following a massive fire.

“We are removing some critically ill and injured patients" out of the hospital to other facilities, Brockton Fire Chief Brian Nardelli said at a news conference.

"This is a serious situation," Brockton Mayor Robert Sullivan added. But he said he is confident that all of the patients will be taken care of.

Later in the afternoon, Sullivan noted that the fire reached 10 alarms, the largest response in the history of the Brockton Fire Department. Mutual aid came from as far as Brookline down to the Cape.

A spokesperson for National Grid said the company "de-energized" the hospital on Tuesday morning at the hospital's request. They said the fire "appears to have been caused by failure of customer-owned equipment inside the hospital's transformer room." No other customers have been impacted, and the power company said it will restore service at the hospital's direction.

The Brockton Emergency Management Agency and the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency are also on scene.

Aerial footage showed smoke coming from the building and multiple fire vehicles at the scene.

Sharon fire said it is operating "as part of an ambulance strike team" and that evacuations were underway.

The Hanover, Hanson and Rockland fire departments said they are also responding to the scene.

The 216-bed hospital is described on its website as "the oldest and largest inpatient facility in its service area, which is designated as the city of Brockton and twenty-one surrounding municipalities."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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