Fire at Massachusetts hospital forces some evacuations

BROCKTON, Mass. (AP) — A fire at a Massachusetts hospital’s electrical transformer forced an undetermined number of evacuations on Tuesday morning and power was shut off to the building for safety reasons, officials said.

“We are removing some critically ill and injured patients” out of Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital to other facilities, Brockton Fire Chief Brian Nardelli said at a morning news conference.

Patients were still being taken to other hospitals “and we are evaluating patient care plans” as of Tuesday afternoon, the hospital said in a statement on its website.

All elective procedures are canceled through Friday, the statement said.

There were no injuries reported in the fire, which started at about 8 a.m. Temperatures were in the high 20s (about minus 2 degrees Celsius).

Nardelli said the hospital’s emergency generator, which was supplying power to the building, had to be shut off so the fire could be put out.

Nardelli said at the time the fire started, hospital personnel said they had 187 patients, “but people have been discharged in and out, so we don’t have that exact number right now.”

Signature Healthcare is a 216-bed hospital. Brockton is about 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of Boston.