Avista Adventist Hospital to stay closed while crews assess smoke damage
Lanie Lee Cook
LOUISVILLE, Colo. (KDVR) — Avista Adventist Hospital will be closed “for the foreseeable future” after sustaining smoke damage from the Marshall Fire, with the hospital barely escaping a “catastrophic explosion” from the fire’s approach.
A video recorded from the hospital’s roof Thursday shows the fire and its billowing clouds of smoke approaching the north side of the hospital, “so to return hours later and find no significant damage is truly a miracle,” Isaac Sendros, chief executive officer for Avista Adventist Hospital, said in a statement.
Using hoses, hospital employees held back flames that came within four feet of a highly flammable liquid oxygen tank on the property, according to a news release from parent company Centura Health.
The hospital moved patients away from the fast-moving fire to the other side of the building, including emergency patients, intensive care unit patients and babies and two patients on ventilators. All were ultimately evacuated.
The hospital released videos and photos showing soot-covered areas of the hospital: patient rooms, the ambulance bay, the emergency room nursing station. Three levels of air filters, all coated with soot, were pulled from the building’s air intake system.
Although no direct fire damage impacted the property, the hospital does not have natural gas and is relying on diesel generators to maintain its heat systems. Cleaning crews are assessing the smoke damage and determining whether surgical supplies are still viable. The state must inspect and certify the hospital’s oxygen system before it can return to use.
“We are eternally grateful and thankful to the first responders who responded with urgency and have tirelessly worked since the fire first erupted in our community,” Sendros said. “Avista will be a light in the darkness as we support our friends, neighbors, and community in this recovery.”
A panoramic view of the burn scar to the west of Avista Adventist Hospital. (Credit: Centura Health Avista Adventist Hospital)
View of the burn scar from the hospital room, showing a nearby golf course. (Credit: Centura Health Avista Adventist Hospital)
The flames reached within four feet of a highly flammable oxygen tank, seen on the left. Hospital staff fought back the flames using hoses. The oxygen system must be inspected and certified by the state before it can be used again. (Credit: Centura Health Avista Adventist Hospital)
Soot covers the window, desk, and phone inside a med-surg room at Avista Adventist Hospital. The patients in these rooms were moved to the center/southside of the hospital before being evacuated. (Credit: Centura Health Avista Adventist Hospital)
Close up of a window in the med-surg area, which took the brunt of the winds and smoke damage. (Credit: Centura Health Avista Adventist Hospital)
Emergency crews, including the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, checked each room for patients and staff, marking the handle with blue tape once it was cleared. (Credit: Centura Health Avista Adventist Hospital)
Soot covers the floor of the ambulance bay leading to the Emergency Department. (Credit: Centura Health Avista Adventist Hospital)
The view inside the nursing station inside the Avista ED. Thick soot covers the floor and counters. (Credit: Centura Health Avista Adventist Hospital)
Fans cool the electrical room. The building will be running off of diesel fuel for the time being. (Credit: Centura Health Avista Adventist Hospital)
Three levels of air filters are pulled from the air intake system. The green filters are the first line of defense, followed by the white filters and then the boxed HEPA filters. (Credit: Centura Health Avista Adventist Hospital)
Soot covers a white air filter. (Credit: Centura Health Avista Adventist Hospital)
The Marshall Fire approaches the north side of the hospital on Dec. 30, 2021. (Credit: Centura Health Avista Adventist Hospital)
