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A fire occurred at Cancun general hospital which caused both staff, and patients to be evacuated. The issue was seemingly caused by a short circuit that occurred in one of the air extractors that the hospital features. Around midday on Wednesday hospital staff called 9-1-1, what followed was a prompt response by the local fire department. Luckily, the fire was kept under control before it spread to other parts of the facility. Unnamed firefighters that were on the scene have mentioned to local outlets that they were able to trace the fire back to the source of the problem rather quickly. The prompt response by the fire department ensured that things didn’t escalate further.
There Was An Evacuation of Patients & Hospital Staff
An evacuation was started by hospital staff who escorted patients out to the hospital courtyard area even before firefighters arrived on the scene. Luckily, the issue took place in the private offices part of the hospital. Which, for the most part meant that the evacuation process did not include a high number of patients that were effectively “hospitalized” at the time. This potentially allowed for both evacuation efforts, and fire extinguishing duties to be carried out more effectively. Reportedly firefighters used chemically modified dirt to be able to put the fire out. Although conflicting reports also indicate that it was hospital staff that was able to get the fire under control with on site fire extinguishers.
The fear was that using other types of fire extinguishing techniques could’ve actually escalated the issue. Preliminary information dictates that the fire was started in one of the extractors in the hospital. By the time the firefighters arrived it may very well have stretched to some of the other electrical systems within the same area.
Both staff and patients were kept out of the building for an extended period even after the fire was successfully put out. This to avoid any type problems that could arise from prolonged exposure to smoke. By most accounts though, as we’ve previously mentioned the evacuation wasn’t a hospital wide event. Since, the fire was able to be put under control swiftly certain parts of the hospital seemingly continued to operate normally.
No Further Investigations Have Been Formally Announced
About a day after the incident occurred there still hasn’t been a formal announcement from either the hospital or local authorities over what seemingly may have caused the incident. Furthermore, neither party has publicly announced what they plan to do to ensure that this type of issue doesn’t happen in the future.
Short circuit fires can occur for a variety of reasons. In this particular situation loose wiring that came into contact with a surface or element that it shouldn’t have may have been to blame for the small fire. Another potential culprit could be the presence of worn out electric equipment in the facility. That would seem rather unlikely though.
The Cancun general hospital opened its doors in 2017. It’s not exactly at the age where these types of issues should be occurring. As previously mentioned a firefighter that asked to remain anonymous mentioned that his squad had potentially found where the short circuit originated within the extractor. That’s currently the closest thing to an official explanation that has been offered by anyone involved in the incident.
The Hospital Is Working As Usual
By all accounts the hospital is currently operating as usual. At the time of the incident there were certain folks evacuated from the vaccination tents that sit in the hospital courtyard. Even those though seem to be operating normally. By all accounts, this was just an isolated incident, authorities hope that nothing further will come of it.
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