Focus: Plumbing
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Hospital evacuation linked to botched toilet repair

Difficulty locating the damaged pipe’s shut-off valve has raised concerns about safety protocols


A pipe burst that cause a patient evacuation at Curahealth Hospital in Stoughton, Mass., has been to a piece of equipment that malfunctioned during a repair of a leaky toilet in the building, according to an article on the Patriot Ledger website.

Difficulty locating the damaged pipe’s shut-off valve during the emergency has raised concerns about safety protocols.

The damaged pipe, located inside the hospital’s walls, leaked water for over an hour before hospital staff and fire officials could locate its shut-off valve.

The 21 patients evacuated were from the facility’s long-term acute care unit, seven or eight of whom rely on electricity for ventilation or basic life support. Ambulances transferred the patients to six hospitals in the area with no injuries or health complications sustained during the transition.

Read the article.



April 8, 2019


Topic Area: Maintenance and Operations


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