4.13pm – Wednesday 24 April 2024
The rescue car moved quickly and prevented the flames from spreading. Fire at Santa Chiara: the rapid response of the emergency system.
Limited inconvenience and no patients involved. The timely intervention of the firefighters prevented the spread of the flames, which broke out this morning in a clinic of the multi-zone operational unit of gastroenterology and digestive endoscopy on the second floor, block B, of the Santa Chiara hospital. The fire started in an outpatient area where there was no healthcare activity at the time of the fire and had no consequences for people.
The planned procedures were activated immediately, the internal fire team immediately intervened to manage the problem by alerting the firefighters who reached the hospital in less than 40 minutes from the time of the report and put out the flames.
The provincial health councilor, in thanking the work of all those who intervened, explained how the emergency system reacted promptly and allowed the problem to be resolved in a very short time and to avoid worse damage. The councilor then concluded by recalling that the Province has reserved important resources to implement the hospital’s fire prevention program since, although the process for the construction of the new university hospital has finally started, it is necessary to pay maximum attention and provide adequate resources to guarantee maximum efficiency of the current hospital and safety for workers and patients.
At the moment, the reclamation, cleaning and control activities of the operational unit are underway and there are no interruptions in the hospital’s hospitalization activities. As a precaution, the patients hospitalized in the rooms on the upper floor of the area affected by the fire were moved to another wing of the department. On the lower floor, however, the activity of the operating room was inhibited. The outpatient digestive endoscopy activity has been suspended and the colonoscopies booked for today will be carried out in other locations of the operational unit and the activity will be rescheduled in collaboration with the other hospitals (Borgo, Arco and Rovereto); the Rovereto hospital will cover endoscopy and gastroenterology emergencies.
“The report of the start of fire – explained the commander of the Trento Fire Brigade Ilenia Lazzeri – arrived two minutes after six. The permanent corps immediately activated all the staff present in the barracks and requested the collaboration of the Pergine volunteer fire brigade (for support with the ladder truck) and the Gardolo and Povo volunteer corps to provide coverage in case of further reports in the city. The staff arrived promptly at the hospital and intervened to “attack” the fire both from outside and inside the structure. Thanks also to the health company staff and the collaboration created ‘in times of peace’, the rescue machine was activated quickly and by 6.40 the flames were already extinguished. After the shutdown, our staff carried out inspections together with the hospital staff. Now remediation activities will be necessary, the permanent corps will provide support to the health company to remove materials and equipment that are damaged or need to be checked”.
“The first alarm in the hospital went off just before 6am – reiterated engineer Debora Furlani, director of the APSS infrastructure department -. Trained staff within the hospital immediately noticed that the endoscopy area on the second floor was filled with smoke. The fire, which broke out in the endoscopy room of the outpatient area whose causes are being ascertained, affected the entire block B of the second floor and significantly damaged both the finishes of the structure and the equipment which will have to be partly disposed of , partly reclaimed and verified and possibly put back into operation. The fire detection system worked perfectly and it was possible to confine the fire to that section of the structure. As a precaution, part of the gynecological hospitalization was moved to the remaining part of the department on the same floor. Two ophthalmology clinics were closed on the upper floor. We have currently activated the reclamation procedures of the area to promptly verify which and how many of the equipment are still in good condition to be reused. It will take a couple of months to restore activity.”
“The department manages 28 patients daily – reported the hospital director Michele Sommavilla – including gastroscopies and colonoscopies who have been transferred to the other hospitals in the province – Rovereto, Arco and Borgo Valsugana – while the emergencies have all been moved to Rovereto. Some activities on the upper floors, the ophthalmology and rheumatology clinic, have been suspended as a precaution, but emergencies and non-delayable operations are guaranteed. During the event we limited the flow of patients along the entrances to the building and this will be the case for the next few days. We will reorganize the ordinary activity in the other hospitals by transferring doctors and nurses and guaranteeing longer opening hours. We are preparing to move the emergency room to another area.”
The general director of APSS Antonio Ferro also praised the carrying out of the operations: “I am very satisfied that no one was involved, neither the patients nor the operators – he stated -. Having solved the problem in such a short time demonstrates that when negative events occur the system is capable of reacting quickly and competently. Now comes the difficult part, that is, giving answers to users in a moment of difficulty, but thanks to the winning idea of a widespread hospital we will be able to eliminate the waiting lists that will be created and confirm the effectiveness of the Trentino healthcare system. If it weren’t for the other hospitals, Trento would now be at a standstill and our patients would have had to move to Bolzano, Verona, or other facilities in the Veneto”.
