Late Tuesday morning, staff at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital were alerted to a fire which occurred in the hospital laundry room. The fire was quickly handled by the Charlottetown Fire Department and was detected above equipment in the laundry department. It was found to be located within the ceiling above the laundry and below the Operating Room area. Some residual smoke traveled to adjacent departments.
Hospital and Fire Department officials surveyed the damage and confirmed that the building remains structurally sound and that the damage to the structure is minimal. Smoke did enter the ventilation system before the fire was entirely extinguished and there was an odor detected in the day surgery and surgical areas.
Rob Philpott, Executive Director of the QEH, said, “Right now we are assessing the effect this fire is having on our operations and will provide any further information to the public once known. We have decided to cancel all non-emergency procedures, but all urgent patient care situations will be dealt with.”
All patients scheduled for procedures will be notified of their rescheduled appointment.
Mr. Philpott said, “I commend staff, physicians, volunteers, and the emergency responders for their teamwork and quick response in dealing with this situation.”