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Steam pipe rupture at Victoria General Hospital injures two workers

A steam pipe explosion at Victoria General Hospital left two Island Health workers with serious burns Friday. One worker suffered serious burns to roughly 30 per cent of his body, while the other was hurt on his hands and neck. – Dec 30, 2022

Two staff members working at Victoria General Hospital were injured Friday morning after a pipe carrying steam ruptured.

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In a statement, Island Health said the incident happened at 8:30 a.m. but did not elaborate on how badly the staff members were injured.

They did say the two members were receiving care.

No other patients were injured or affected and patient care is not affected.

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About 30 firefighters responded to the incident.

“The interesting thing was the crews had zero visibility in the hallway, so, as they’re going down the hallway looking for this broken pipe, of course, you have this hot water and steam coming out of the pipe that they can’t see because of the steamy,” Paul Hurst, fire chief and director of public safety at View Royal Fire Rescue.

“So, for the 10 minutes, it was a little difficult to isolate the problem, control that area, and then get up into the ceiling space.

“We’re talking thousands of gallons of hot water and of course, it was spilling out the doorway.”

There was a temporary ambulance diversion from the hospital to Royal Jubilee Hospital for about two hours Friday morning, Island Health said, but that diversion is no longer needed.

The Victoria General Hospital emergency department remains open and able to provide emergency care.

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-with files from Kylie Stanton

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