Another fire broke out at Crozer-Chester Medical Center, ‘no patients impacted,’ hospital says
The electrical fire was the second to break out at the Delaware County facility in less than a week.
A second electrical fire in less than a week broke out at Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Delaware County on Monday morning, according to health and fire officials. No injuries were reported, the hospital said.
Fire crews responded to an electrical fire in the 300-bed hospital’s mechanical room shortly before noon, according to Upland Fire Marshal Dan Smith.
In a statement, Crozer Medical described as the incident as a “smoke condition” that began during maintenance on a transformer.
Fire crews gave the situation an “all clear” by 1:15 p.m.
“No patient care areas were impacted and there was no disruption in services,” the hospital’s statement said.
The fire at the Upland facility on Monday broke out days after an electrical fire in the same part of the hospital on Thursday evening led to the evacuation of 38 patients, disruptions throughout the hospital, and a heavy, multi-department response from fire crews.
That blaze began after the hospital experienced a “small flood that resulted in a fire,” according to a statement that evening from Crozer Health CEO Tony Esposito.
» READ MORE: Fire at Crozer-Chester Medical Center prompts patient evacuations
“Critical care patients were evacuated from the facility to safe areas and we have been working with the county [to] ensure their safety,” Esposito said. “No injuries have been reported.”
The fires at Crozer Medical mark the latest obstacle for the embattled hospital system.
Years of financial and leadership turmoil led Pennsylvania’s attorney general to petition for state control of the facility this fall, with the office citing recent threats from Prospect Medial Holdings Inc., Crozer’s for-profit owner, to shut down key services lines including maternity services and the county’s only trauma unit.
Since being acquired by Prospect in 2016, two of Crozer’s four hospitals have closed, and the system has endured numerous rounds of layoffs and service disruptions — including the abrupt closure of Crozer-Chester‘s emergency department for several hours earlier this month.
Meanwhile, state health inspectors this year flagged two of Crozer’s hospitals for broken cardiac care equipment and providing inadequate care for cardiac and behavioral health patients.