A2- Terrace Review — Wednesday, February 27, 1991 Stewart ponders medical [ future after explosion — by Tod Strachan When the Stewart General Hospi- tal board of directors talk of a hospital expansion program they’re not talking about raising the roof or moving the walls, They’re talk- ing about a larger, brand new $3.5 million building that will house all of Stewart’s medical services. Regardless of this vision, how- ever, raise the roof and move the _walls: is -exacily what a propane explosion did to Stewart General last Friday morning. AS a result, Stewart medical ‘services are now : being administered from temporary quarters, ' awaiting a decision to either repair the old building ‘or fast-track the new ‘one. In ‘part, their course of action will depend on the findings of a structural engineer who examined the build- ing on Monday. Terrace, fire chief Bob Beckett - says he first learned of the incident when he was contacted by the Provincial Emergency Program, and within an hour two Terrace firefighters, Ray Tremblay and Richard Owens, had volunteered to assist Stewart firefighters and were on their way by helicopter. With them, they carried gas detection equipment and air turrets (blowers) borrowed from Pacific Northem Gas, their full tum-out gear, and Scott air packs. According to Tremblay, the problem at the hospital site began when a front end loader struck and severed the pipe between a 1,000 gallon exterior propane tank and the hospital’s emergency electrical generator. The tesulting leak filled the lower level of the building with propane, which exploded when the burner of the hospital’s oil-fired, thermostatically operated furnace ignited. He says no one was injured by the explosion; the only nurse in the building left before the explosion occurred. There was coricemn, though, that a spreading cloud of propane gas might cause similar explosions in nearby homes. At one point, says Tremblay, a cloud of propane four feet high covered an area of about four by four blocks. Owens says damage to the hospi- tal was extensive. The explosion buckled a 20x20 foot section of the roof, moved some walls out- wards about four inches, broke about 25 percent of the windows in the building and touched off a fire in the roof. | He gives Stewart firefighters high marks for their quick action. According to Owens, "They new exactly what to do." The source of the leaking propane was quickly closed off and the fire in the. hos- pital roof extinguished. They,-then covered medical equipment and supplies with plastic to minimize water damage. Left for Owens and Tremblay when they arrived was an assessment of the situation and helping to clear out the remaining cloud of propane. . Stewart General Hospital board | chairman Dave Richardson ‘says medical services are continuing in | a more or less normal fashion, but mid- to. long-term patients are fo be:transférred to Mills Memorial in Terrace’ for care. The doctor's — clinic, however, says | Richardson, 7 is in full ‘operation ata nearby — nurses’ residence. And laboratory, ‘emergency and diagnostic services ‘are being offered on the ground floor of a. hastily modified apart- ment building. — Now, he says, it’s time for a decision on maintaining services — over the next few months, or pos- sibly years. No estimate is avail- able yet on the cost of repairing ‘the old hospital, built in 1954 when the population was only 500. Regional district director Andy Burton said of the hospital in February 1989, that upgrade and repair work would be "throwing good money after bad". — Continued on page A14 OUR COMMUNITIES - — OUR RESOURCES New Democrat Caucus Task Force on . Community Involvement in Resource Use Decision-Making with DAN MILLER, MLA (FORESTRY) JOHN CASHORE, MLA (ENVIRONMENT & PARKS) | TERRACE - Monday, March 4 at 7:00 p.m. — Terrace Inn | HAZELTON - Tuesday, March 5 at 2:00 p.m. — Gitksan Wet’suwet’en Education Society Room _ SMITHERS - Tuesday, March 5 at 7:00 p.m. _— Hudson Bay Lodge We invite your written or verbal presentations. For information contact: Victorla office, 387- 6283 (collect). 4535 Greig Avenue, Terrace, B.C. V8G 1M7 SUBSCRIPTION ORDER FORM _ | 1 year — $39.00, plusGST° “Close Up magazine, $10 extra in Terrace’ and. Thornhill, 00 Cheque Name - [11 Money Order Please send a subscription to: - Address Postal Code Expiry. Date. O Master Card a | Visa Card No. Mail or bring this form to: Phone. Seniors in Terrace and District $30. 00 Seniors outside of Terrace and District $33.00 Out of Canada $100. 00 Terrace Review. 4535 Greig Avenue, Terrace, B. C. 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