Crozer-Chester Medical Center briefly impacted by small fire
The fire occurred after a vendor did maintenance work on the emergency department’s roof, a Crozer Health spokesperson said.
A small fire broke out at Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Delaware County late Friday morning, but no patients were evacuated and no injuries were reported.
Fire crews responded to the 300-bed hospital about 11:30 a.m. after receiving reports of smoke in the facility’s emergency room. More than half a dozen fire trucks, plus other emergency response vehicles, lined Upland Avenue near the ambulance bay as firefighters on the roof focused on an HVAC duct.
The fire occurred after a vendor did maintenance work on the emergency department’s roof, a Crozer Health spokesperson said. The hospital briefly diverted incoming ambulances to nearby hospitals, and the fire was placed under control shortly after noon.
Previously, in December, the hospital experienced two small fires within days. The first came just after Christmas, with an electrical fire and interior flooding triggering patient evacuations. The second came the day before New Year’s Eve and was also electrical in nature, but did not affect patient care areas.
Friday’s fire was the latest woe for the embattled Crozer-Chester Medical Center, which faces impending closure amid ongoing financial issues. Its owner, Prospect Medical Holdings, filed for bankruptcy in January, saying in filings that it no longer wanted to pay to keep Crozer Health hospitals and doctors’ offices open.
The Foundation for Delaware County this week agreed to provide enough funding to keep Crozer-Chester Medical Center and nearby Taylor Hospital open through roughly March 28. In February, Pennsylvania and Delaware County agreed to provide $20 million in funding to keep it open for four weeks, which would have run out Friday.
Prospect acquired Crozer in 2016, and has since closed two of its four hospitals. It began attempting to sell Crozer in the fall of 2021, but a new operator has not yet been secured.