A massive fire that threw flames high into the cold, night sky forced dozens of patients to evacuate Lehigh Valley Hospital-Dickson City and destroyed the orthopedics wing late Wednesday evening.
No patients, staff or firefighters were injured, though some patients were already asleep in the four-story hospital when the fire was reported at 9:40 p.m., officials said. As hospital staff and even a state legislator who's a nurse settled shocked patients at a hospital-related building next door, numerous ambulances from across the region arrived to shuttle patients to hospitals as far away as Allentown.
"Everybody is safe," Dickson City Fire Chief Rich Chowanec said. "All four floors of the hospital, plus the emergency room, were evacuated. They did a fantastic job."
The fire's cause remains under investigation.
Geisinger hospitals accepted 13 patients — 12 at Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton and one at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Plains Twp, health system spokesman Matt Mattei said Thursday. As of 8:25 a.m., five patients were in fair condition, four were treated and released, three were in good condition and one patient is in critical condition, Mattei said.
Wayne Memorial Hospital in Honesdale accepted five patients, all of whom were in stable condition, community relations manager Carol Kneier said in an email.
Commonwealth Health hospitals were caring for eight patients and "continue to assist where we can," spokesperson Annmarie Poslock said in an email. "All patients were evaluated and provided appropriate care by our clinical teams."
How firefighters tackled it
Chowanec said the fire was reported about 9:40 p.m. Dozens of firefighters from numerous hose companies rushed to the scene, sirens blaring, emergency lights flashing.
"I responded immediately from my house, and while I was on the way, I did see a smoke condition in the air, so I called for extra resources," the fire chief said. "Right off the bat, when I arrived, we already had flames through the roof of the office area of the Orthopedic Institute. And as the crews were starting to arrive, we started making a fire attack."
A firefighter perched at the top of a ladder truck spraying water on flames for more than an hour.
By midnight, when Chowanec could finally emerge to address local media, the fire was almost out.
"We have the main fires knocked down. We're just hitting some hot spots. There was no fire impingement to the hospital itself. There was some smoke damage on (floors) three and four, some smoke on the first floor to kitchen area, and a little bit of water damage on the first floor as well," Chowanec said.
Electricity was shut off. A firewall designed to prevent fire from spreading between the orthopedics center and the main hospital saved the main hospital from extensive damage, Chowanec said.
"There is a three-hour firewall that separates the orthopedic Institute and the hospital side," he said. "That definitely helped ... We will be powering back up the hospital as soon as they can ensure that all the fire is ou ... That's up to the hospital if they're gonna go back in, but just so we can get some power back into the hospital side so the pipes don't freeze and stuff like that."
It's unclear how long the main hospital will remain closed. Lehigh Valley Health Network issued a statement directed only at families of patients.
"For information regarding patients evacuated from last night’s fire at Lehigh Valley Hospital, family members only should call 610-402-0498," the statement said.
Six of the 77 patients were in intensive care and were evacuated first.
"Whatever hospitals had beds available," Lackawanna County Emergency Management Director Tom Taylor said. "We've called all the way down to St Luke's (in Allentown) ... They found the beds. So it's just a matter of getting the patients loaded on the ambulance."
Patients were unavailable for comment. Many milled about inside a prosthetics center next door as nurses and hospital staff determined their condition. State Rep. Bridget Kosierowski, still a licensed registered nurse, praised the "all-hands-on-deck" response by hospital and emergency officials. She chatted with patients and tried to keep them calm, she said.
"I think these patients are in shock," Kosierowski said. "They just got bolted out of a hospital that is on fire. This is unprecedented, but there's a calm here ... The patients feel safe. There's no chaos. It's very professional and very calm."
Many orthopedic patients were less mobile than normally, she said.
"There's a gentleman in here with a (leg) fracture, waiting for surgery tomorrow," Kosierowski said. "He's on a stretcher, and he's supposed to go the or tomorrow. He's a Dickson City guy. His wife's in her 80s. She's home. He's by himself in there."
Local, state response
As emergency lights on fire trucks and ambulances lit up the night, snowplow trucks blocked the Dickson City exit of Interstate 81 north to limit traffic. County officials called in two County of Lackawanna Transit System buses to keep patients' family members warm.
One woman cried and was calmed by another as she approached a bus.
"We're okay, we're okay," the second woman said.
Kosierowski said she spoke to U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan, who was on his way back to the region from Washington, D.C.
"The amount of communication and the collaboration to this response, I'm really pleased... to have that kind of open communication," she said.
Bresnahan's office issued a statement on his behalf.
“My thoughts are with the patients, staff, first responders, and families affected by the fire at Lehigh Valley Hospital–Dickson City," Bresnahan said. "I am traveling back from Washington, and my team and I will continue to closely monitor the situation and support local officials as they respond.”
Gov. Josh Shapiro's local representative, Drew Popish, and Bresnahan's district director, Brian Langan, joined Kosierowski on the scene.
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The lawmakers, along with many others in the region, have worked to both preserve and increase health care access in recent months. Tenor Health Foundation and Commonwealth Health closed a deal this week selling Tenor Wilkes-Barre General and Scranton’s Moses Taylor and Regional hospitals.
"We're really lucky to live in this environment where we are and certainly having a hospital for patients to go to is also something that's really critical," Kosierowski said.
State police, the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency and the state Department of Health were on scene and helped to evacuate patients and secure the area, Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a social media post.
"Thank you to every first responder running toward danger to help their fellow Pennsylvanians," he wrote. "Lori and I are praying for the staff, patients, their families and the entire community tonight."
Hospital opened in 2022
Lehigh Valley Health Network opened the Main Street campus in 2022. The 100,000-square-foot hospital has a surgical specialty focus, with seven operating rooms and two procedure rooms.
The hospital features 24 private inpatient rooms, a 19-bay emergency room and a helipad for times when a higher level of care is needed.
The connected Orthopedic Institute featured a walk-in clinic and treatment for "any type of orthopedic or musculoskeletal problem," according to the health network.
