COURTENAY, B.C- The lower floor of the new hospital in the Comox Valley was evacuated on Tuesday night.
According to Lieutenant Cary Kerr with the Courtenay fire department, a call came in at 9:49 p.m. about smoke in the hospital’s electrical room. Security had noticed the smoke showing, but saw no flames.
Once they arrived, firefighters hooked up to the front door hydrants of the hospital and entered the building, and opened up the electrical room.
“(It) Sounds like an electrical issue with a server box, or a computer issue,” said Kerr.
“It was enough smoke to set off the alarms in that room, and when they opened the door to enter, it ended up setting off additional alarms down the hallway.”
Staff and the lower floor were evacuated during the call, and no other occupants were allowed inside the hospital while firefighters were on-scene.
They were allowed back inside around 11 p.m.
The electrical room was ventilated, and firefighters cleared the area by 11:20 p.m.
No injuries were reported during the call, and it was the first time the Courtenay fire department has responded to an electrical room incident at the new hospital building.
