Incipient fire quickly brought under control at the Chaleur Regional Hospital

Bathurst, Tuesday, January 17, 2017 – An incipient fire was quickly brought under control last night at the Chaleur Regional Hospital, but made it necessary to temporarily move a few patients from a nursing unit. 

The fire started last night in the outer portion of the facility’s roof, on the west side, near the junction with the new building that is currently under construction.  The alarm sounded shortly after 10:00 p.m. and the firefighters from the Fire Department of the City of Bathurst quickly arrived on site.   As soon as the alarm sounded, the fire emergency plan was activated to ensure the safety of patients and staff members.

As a precautionary measure, nearly 30 patients from the Extended Care Unit (4th West) were temporarily relocated to another nursing unit on the same level of the facility. The fire was quickly brought under control thanks to the effective intervention of the firefighters and facility staff.  A little more than an hour later, that is around 11:15 p.m., the relocated patients were brought back to their nursing unit. No one was hurt during the incident and damages do not appear to be extensive at first glance. The cause of the fire is unknown at this time.  This incident did not disrupt the hospital’s usual operations.

Vitalité Health Network wants to thank its staff members and patients for their excellent collaboration during this incident.  “We also want to thank the Fire Department of the City of Bathurst for their quick intervention and professionalism, which made it possible to minimize the damages,” said Network President and Chief Executive Officer Gilles Lanteigne.