No injuries nor disruption to operations following boiler fire at Speare Memorial Hospital

PLYMOUTH — A boiler malfunction at Speare Memorial Hospital on Saturday morning caused some smoke, but was quickly handled by the hospital maintenance crew.

“There was a small fire in one of our boilers that resulted in black smoke being emitted,” said Kate Tarbox, the director of marketing and community relations at Speare Memorial Hospital. “The situation was quickly handled by our maintenance team and our local fire department. At no time was there a need for evacuation, and there was no impact to patient care or hospital operations.”

Deputy Fire Chief Dan Doucette said the department was dispatched at 9:51 a.m. on Sept. 27, for the report of a building fire with smoke inside. Upon arrival, Doucette said no fire was found, and firefighters stayed at the scene until 10:26 a.m.

Doucette said crews remained onsite to make sure there were no malfunctions or misfires of the boiler as it was being tended to by maintenance workers. Power from the malfunctioning boiler was disconnected, and the maintenance crew fired up a secondary boiler, which Doucette said was operating and functioning properly.

“It sounded like one of the boilers maybe had some maintenance that needed to be done, so there was a backup of some sediment,” Doucette said.

Doucette said it caused odorous smoke to come from the boiler, and related it to a chimney fire from creosote buildup.

“There was no actual hazard to any of the patients or staff,” Doucette said.