A day after a fire destroyed its Orthopedic Institute, Lehigh Valley Hospital-Dickson City remained closed Thursday and its future uncertain.
A spokesperson for Jefferson Health, which owns the 4-year-old hospital, issued a statement Thursday afternoon that says it will remain closed temporarily “while teams conduct thorough damage assessments and plan for a safe reopening.”
Jefferson declined to make officials available for interviews.
The statement recapped the fire and said the hospital was affected and all patients, staff and visitors safely evacuated with patients taken to “other area healthcare facilities to ensure continuity of care.”
The statement credited “the professionalism and preparedness of our staff and first responders” for relocating more than 70 patients, visitors and staff” and “ensuring everyone’s safety.”
The health system established a phone number to call – 610-402-0498 – for patients’ family members.
The fire’s cause remains under investigation.
What happened
A public safety staffer politely blocked reporters from viewing the damage Thursday and directed questions to public affairs staff.
The fire, reported about 9:40 p.m. Wednesday, burned brightly. Flames shot out of the roof and could be seen for miles in the darkness. The main hospital avoided major damage, which Dickson City Fire Chief Rich Chowanec attributed to a firewall separating the wing and hospital.
Hospital staff safely evacuated 77 people, a Lackawanna County emergency management official said.
Chowanec said no injuries were reported. Patients were transferred to hospitals as far away as Allentown, the emergency management official said.
Local hospitals help
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 morning. Four of the 13 were treated and released.
By the afternoon, GCMC only had six patients and Geisinger Wyoming Valley only one. Five patients were in good condition, one in fair condition, and one in serious condition. Two more were treated and released.
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, sold this week to Tenor Health Foundation, were caring for eight patients and "continue to assist where we can," spokesperson Annmarie Poslock said in an email.
Efforts to determine the whereabouts of other patients were unsuccessful.
Normal looking but not normal
Yellow caution tape surrounded the hospital Thursday. Orange traffic cones blocked visitors from entering a parking lot. A public safety officer redirected drivers.
The main hospital entrance appeared normal. From Main Street, the orthopedics wing looked only charred from below. Staff carried boxes out the main entrance.
From a street behind the hospital, the severity of the damage was clearer. From above, drone shots showed a twisted mess of metal. Chowanec called the wing a total loss.
Firefighter talks of the battle
At the nearby Eagle Hose Company, a borough firefighting unit, Lt. Xander Oakey recalled arriving and seeing “heavy fire through the roof.”
Oakey led ladder truck 23, the first to arrive.
His firefighters tried to aggressively attack flames on the second floor but were quickly forced to pull back “and went to defensive operations,” Oakey said.
Oakey led his crew until about 2 a.m. Thursday, when he was taken to GCMC for treatment of high blood pressure.
“Mine was way too high. Way too high. Cooking. They sent me to the hospital pretty quick,” he said. “I was on the second floor looking for fire, and I was practically swimming. I was practically swimming through the water upstairs, and completely soaked gear and 9-degree weather doesn't mix well.”
Oakey said one other injured firefighter was doing well.
Firefighters from hose companies in Throop, Blakely, Olyphant, Peckville and Chinchilla joined Dickson City.
“I think it was a great job done by all,” Oakey said.
Crews remained on scene until 5 a.m., he said.
'A staple for our community'
As the fire burned, Dickson City Borough Council President Jeff Kovaleski had a thought.
"All the time and effort put into bringing that hospital here, you know, for the people in the community, and then to see it literally go into flames like that ... was so sad in a way, in a lot of ways, but in a particular way, because we knew we needed that hospital in our community," Kovaleski said. "People need that service, and now that services is not there."
He hopes Jefferson rebuilds the wing.
"They really were a staple for our community down there, and I think that ... it was a win- win for the community, a win-win for the hospital," he said.
Kovaleski said first responders knew what to do in case anything a fire happened.
"The plan that was in place for if, God forbid, a situation like that ever happened," he said. "Well, the plan worked, and it worked very well, and it was almost seamless, which, thank God that it worked out as well as it did."
