Damage from fire at Cambridge hospital estimated at $1 million

A fire on the roof of Cambridge Memorial Hospital caused around $1 million in damage, the Cambridge Fire Department says.

The fire department provided the damage estimate on Wednesday, the day after flames broke out at the hospital.

While the fire was contained to the mechanical room on the roof of Wing B, smoke concerns led to parts of the hospital being evacuated.

“There were patients in our day surgery area as well as our post-anesthetic care unit who were horizontally evacuated to other towers,” said Stephanie Pearsall, VP clinical programs and chief nursing executive. “We did move some pediatric patients and our special care nursery patients, just because there was some smoke."

The fire department is still investigating what exactly caused the fire.

HOSPITAL TO RESUME FULL OPERATIONS THURSDAY

The hospital rescheduled a total of 30 endoscopies and 34 surgeries on Tuesday and Wednesday. Emergent procedures went ahead.

After extensive cleaning and air quality approval from the fire department, administrators say the hospital will be operating at full capacity Thursday.

“We really wanted to make sure that space was safe,” Pearsall said. “We've done terminal cleaning, the walls have been washed, all the linens have been changed, the curtains have all been changed, and really just tried to circulate as much air as possible."