BURNT TO THE GROUND

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 59, 6 December 1946, Page 5

BURNT TO THE GROUND

OPOTIKI HOSPITAL DESTROYED OUTBREAK ON WEDNESDAY EVENING ALL PATIENTS SAVED A fire which broke out in the domestic quarters of the Opotiki Hospital at 10.30 p.m. last Wednesday evening, swept the whole building, completely destroying it. All of the patients were successfully saved, and a large number of the fittings and equipment carried to safety, leaving little more than the building itself to the flames.

The outbreak was first noticed in the domestic quarters from where it spread swiftly to consume the whole structure. The most unfortunate aspect was that the Hospital was situated well away from the town, and beyond the reach of the fire fighting system, there was no hydrant within a mile, and fire fighters, armed only with hand equipment could do little more than watch the building burn to the ground.

Fortunately, the outbreak was noticed in its early stages, and steps were taken immediately to evacuate the patients. Volunteers arrived from the town in force, and they immediately set to work to strip the building of all fittings and equipment. In lorries, vans and cars, everything was transported to safety. Workers entered each block ahead of the flames, and systematically removed everything X-ray fittings, beds, bedding, linen, supplies—everything was carried to safety. Helpers were even removing window frames when the flames forced them back. So completely stripped was the interior that as far as is known, only the bath in the domestic quarters was left. Patients were immediately transferred to the Lyric Hall in the Borough, and to the newlycompleted annexe on the adjoining grounds. There they were made as comfortable as possible, the nursing staff continuing to administer attention throughout the whole of the ordeal. Yesterday, arrangements were made to accommodate the seriously ill patients in the Gisborne Hospital. Whakatane was approached in this respect, for the use of the ambulance, but unfortunately the vehicle was in Auckland, having been used to take a patient up to that institution the evening before. The building which was destroyed, was a very old one. Originally a house, it had been added to as the need arose, until it assumed the proportions of a fairly large institution. It was condemned from the point of view of layout and inconvenience and the building of a comletely new hospital for the Opotiki district had been the subject of controversy for some considerable time.