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A FIRE caused the closure of a major hospital in Naga City, forcing it to evacuate all 72 patients under its care and referring most of them to other Cebu hospitals yesterday afternoon.
The South General Hospital was hit by fire at past 1 p.m after its generator set caught a spark, setting the unit on fire.
The hospital used the generator heavily to cope with nearly daily power outages.
FO1 Nelson Daculan said the generator set was in the hospital's basement .
Two brownouts struck, one at past 11 a.m and then a second at past 12 noon.
Daculan said about 3,000 liters of crude oil spilled out after the generator caused a spark, setting it on fire.
Engr. Oscar Tuazon, hospital administrator, ruled out faulty wiring as a cause. He also refused to blame the brownouts for causing the fire.
?We are not saying that it happened during the changing of power. Our people in the generator room reported that they were about to power down the generator (at 12 noon) when they heard something explode and then something sparked,? Tuazon said over radio dyLA.
He said the hospital has an interlocking switch for this purpose.
Tuazon said the hospital has been in operation for five years and their electric lines are in good condition.
?We just finished inspecting them and they are in excellent shape,? Tuazon said.
While the fire was contained at the generator room, the rooms above it were covered with smoke.
Since the power feed inside the generator room was also destroyed, the hospital could not receive power yet from the Visayan Electric Co. (Veco).
Tuazon said it would take them two to three days to replace the generator set and inspect the wirings before they open the hospital again.
Seven patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) were brought to the Cebu Doctors Hospital and Community Hospital in Cebu City.
Some patients chose to be discharged while the others were transferred to Cebu City hospitals.
Patients were provided with ambulance service.
Some patients panicked when they were rushed out of the hospital, but were all safe, said Tuazon.
Heart patient Mauro Templasa, 73, of Sibonga town, was traumatized by the event.
His 45-year-old daughter Marites Nazareno said they lost their cell phones after they rushed out of the ward he was confined in for heart trouble.
Tuazon estimated property damage at more than P1 million since replacing the generator set alone cost P1 million.
Aside from renovating the generator room, he said they would also sustain lost income for two to three days of closure.
