Operations & Training

MA Crews Battle Excavator Fire

July 18, 2022

All duty companies of the Norwood Fire Department are battling an excavator fire at the Norwood Hospital construction project site.

By Alvin Buyinza

Source masslive.com (TNS)

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All duty companies of the Norwood fire department are battling an excavator fire at the Norwood Hospital construction project site, according to a statement from the department.

Most of the fire has been extinguished and contained to the excavator without spreading to the surrounding buildings or piles of debris, the department said. The department also said there were no injuries to firefighters or construction workers at the time.

The hospital has been an active construction site since last month, when demolition began on a reconstruction project that will eventually see the hospital reopen in 2024, according to GBH News.

The decision by hospital owners Steward Health Care to replace the hospital came following a 2020 flood that created irreversible damage, GBH reported.

On June 28 of 2020, the Norwood Hospital’s parking lot flooded with several feet of rain. The rainfall eventually flooded into the hospital’s basement, according to WCVB.

“Shortly thereafter, water also began leaking from the roof and upper floors,” the Norwood fire department told MassLive. “Due to the patient rooms and safety being compromised, the decision was made to evacuate patients from the hospital.”

After the power went off around 6:30 p.m., around 20 patients were evacuated from the building, the hospital’s general manager Tony Mazzucco, told The Boston Globe. Another 60 to 70 patients were forced to leave the hospital around 10 p.m. Some patients stayed in the Draper building – the part of the building that still had power, the Globe said.